Airline Imposes 5 Summer Peak Baggage Handling Fee Hike

The decision prompted anger from the countrys Consumers Association

, which said the move was calculated to maximise revenue from families with children who had no alternative but to travel during the busiest holiday months of July and August. The charges were imposed with less than 24 hours notice in early April.

It meant that passengers booking their tickets to travel with Ryanair online would be charged 33 per cent more for travelling during these two months than at any other time of the year. The charges apply to passengers who arrive at the airport with a bag which has not already been checked in online, or whose hand luggage exceeds the 10kg per passenger allowance.

The Consumers Association of Ireland chief executive, Dermot Jewell, attacked the charge, saying that those whom it would most affect had the fewest options for avoiding paying it.

He said the airline was aware that families with children were among the travellers who needed the most baggage, and said Ryanairs decision was particularly unfortunate given that it had strongly opposed the Governments levy of a flat-rate departure tax of 10 per passenger on the grounds that it would put people off flying.

Mr Jewell claimed that the extra charges would cost a family of four an extra 40 per flight, assuming that each member of the group travelled with one item of checked-in baggage. This could represent a significant difference to the cost of the family holiday, he added. A leading expert said the decision was unfair on families who had no choice but to take their holidays during the peak summer months.

They said the levy was another example of how budget airlines manipulated the true cost of travelling with them simply in order to be able to advertise ever-lower headline fares. She urged passengers to be sure to take the charges into account when deciding who to fly with this summer.

Ryanair said, however, that it was passengers own decision how much luggage they took on holiday. Levying the charges would make passengers think about what they really needed to pack. A spokesman admitted it was a move to try to get them to think about how they could travel light.

He added that 70 per cent of Ryanair passengers travelled without checked-in baggage, and the airline was keen to keep the proportion at around that figure as it helped minimise fuel costs, which was important in the airline being able to continue to offer cheap fares.

by: Ryan Gills

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