Have flown FR quite a bit over the last couple of years, mostly out of Karlsruhe Baden (formerly out of SXB) but occasionally also from Hahn. Have always wondered why they block off the first couple of rows of the aircraft - have asked before and was always just told it is 'company policy'.

Was on a flight from Jerez back to HHN in December, and the number of passengers in the lounge appeared to be about 40-50% of capacity. We were amongst the last to board (no point in ducking flying carry-ons in the attempt to secure a 'good' plastic seat). When we boarded the plane from the rear, the entire cabin appeared to be full, apart from the back 3 or so rows. We were told we could not sit in these, as they were 'reserved'. Walking up the aisle, we were about half way up the plane looking for a seat when we realized that the front six rows were also completely empty. We plonked ourselves into row 6 before any of the cabin crew could realise what was going on.

Not 30 seconds had elapsed when we were approached by a cabin attendant, who requested that we kindly re-seat ourselves, as rows 1-6 were blocked off for this flight. I stood up and looked around at what was a full aircraft behind me, and questioned the flight attendant over her rationale. I was told that it is company policy to block off the first six rows in cases where there are less than 60 (not 100% sure on the number, but about that) passengers booked on the flight. I gave her a look and promptly sat down again. She disappeared up the aisle, and her superior came back a couple of minutes later and told us that she would allow the exception in this case, but that we really shouldn't be sitting in these seats, company policy, and so on. Now keep in mind that we were two travelling together, all the middle rows were completely crammed, rows 1-6 and the back three were completely empty (ryanair first class and a smoking section on a non-smoking flight???) and I don't know where we would have found a seat in the back, certainly not for two people travelling together.

What on earth is going on here? As I mentioned above, this is not the first time that I have encountered such FR 'company policy' - merely the most extreme example. I have one possible explanation - Ryanair sell 'cheap' flights, and are 'successful' at doing this. Now, a cheap flight should be uncomfortable, and a successful airline should always be full. So, when you have a 50% passenger load, close off 50% of your seating, and cram everyone together. The passengers may be uncomfortable, but they will go home talking about how Ryanair are doing really well, how the 6am flight was full to the brim, and so on (how often does the average passenger stand up from their middle seat during a flight to check if the front section is as full as where they're sitting?).

I did toy with the idea that this potentially makes cleaning the aircraft easier. But as their new aircraft interiors are also designed with such in mind (no seat back pockets, vinyl seating, emergency cards stuck to the back of the seats infront etc), I can't imagine too much of a time saving in this, maybe 3 minutes or so?

Ideas???