My brother-in-law booked this years holiday and we're flying Easyjet. Last night he dropped a small bombshell re their new luggage policy.
It appears that you now get no luggage allowance apart from one piece of cabin luggage (56x45x25 with no weight restriction), the rationale is that people who want to carry luggage use more fuel and should therefore pay for that privilege. On the face of it a reasonably logical statement . You then have to pay extra for any hold luggage which is a basic of 20kg then largish price hikes for extra.
But,
Could you reasonably expect a female to go on holiday with two small pieces of luggage ?
Could you see a family with kids getting all their stuff into small cabin bags, I don't think so ?
If you have a plane full do they seriously expect all passengers to get a bag of their cabin luggage into lockers, I don't think so.
Safety considerations, in an emergency cabin lockers have a habit of falling open now absolutely jam packed now with luggage.
Why do I think, especially with falling oil prices, that this is all about profit or am I being cynical.
I think the logic is that the budget airlines offer you the opportunity to fly cheaply, and if you want/need to carry baggage you just bolt it on to the cost of the flight.
People who can or choose to travel lightly are not charged for what they don't need, and the cost of 20kg is usually fair when booked in advance.
I think the time is right for another video...
Your BIL has booked the cheapest tickets.
With the low cost carriers everything is an on cost and he should have added hold luggage when he booked (you can still do this online before travel)- cabin luggage is ok for a couple of days away but not a family hol.
Charging for hold loaded baggage by low-cost airliners is normal.
Re: Easyjet - If you want to guarantee your 'hand luggage' going in the cabin then it has to be 50 x 40 x 20cm or less. Larger bags up to 56cm x 45cm x 25cm could end up in the hold. Read the T&Cs carefully.
I don't think this is a particularly new policy.
AFAIK, this has always been the EJ way - cabin baggage only, unless you want to pay extra. In my experience, pretty much all the low-cost carriers operate this way, and in fact my last flight on BA was booked on a hand-luggage-only fare basis.
As someone who prefers to travel light, I've never had a problem with this, and you can get a surprising amount of stuff into a cabin bag if you put your mind to it.
The low-cost airlines will all tell you that restrictions on hold baggage are one of the ways they keep their fares down. Not only does it save on fuel costs, but it also helps them to achieve faster turnaround times to maximise the use of their fleets, and cuts down the costs associated with ground staff and handling agents.
On my last EJ flight, by the time I boarded, all the lockers were full and so my bag and the others behind me were taken and placed in the hold, which isn't really a problem, although it did mean I had to take part in the baggage reclaim free-for-all, which always irks me.
As they say, you pays your money...
Yes, most low cost airlines will charge for hold luggage, perfectly normal.........
Because it is all about profit. And it drives me mad.Originally Posted by brigant
The worst one now is paying extra to choose a seat, and people do it. 99% of the seats on a 'package holiday plane' are identical, and every passenger gets one so there's really no need to pay extra for it. Yet because it's now an option people are paying extra to make sure they're seated together. If nobody paid the extra, seat allocation would be done at check-in, and provided you check-in with the rest of your family you'd get seated together, like the good old days.
Next you'll be paying extra to take a piss.
I'm sure every week at budget airline HQ they sit around a board room and think of things that can be charged as 'extras' which have previously been included.
This exactly, and why do people still pay for speedy boarding, sheep !
Personally I think the whole charging for luggage is a con, think of it this way ....
Skinny bloke going away for a couple of weeks with a large bag so he pays for his ticket plus extra for hold luggage.
Great big fat bloater (*) going away for a couple of nights stuffs a pair of clean under-crackers in his pocket and that's it.
They're sat next to each other on the flight out yet the one paying extra because of the weight affecting the flight is actually 10 stone lighter than the chap in the next seat ... it's a con, it's all about extracting additional monies from people they know have no choice but to pay. Whilst I can appreciated the business model these companies follow, anyone daft enough to think what they pay will be the "headline price" is in for a shock.
Won't be long before these airlines will be weighing passengers and charging prices based on your own weight!
(* before anyone gets offended - I'm a big fat bloater)
I booked a flight on easyjet last week. £44 was the cost for a hold bag. Was still worth it compared to other alternative flights and there have been plenty times Ive flown with only a cabin bag so would welcome the saving.
If Easyjet's model upsets you I would suggest you never ever ever fly Ryanair!
If you don't like it, fly BA. If you book early enough the prices are pretty comparable - with added benefits of being able to order a complimentary G&T on board ...
Plus, those cabin bags are plenty roomy if you don't just throw stuff in:
Of course BA are happy to charge you extra if you wish to check in and reserve a seat more than 24 hours ahead.
and dont get me started on the quality of their partner airlines or the mileage programme (which is why I booked eadyjet. I could have booked a rewards flight except a) it meant flights of 14 hours rather than 5 b) meant 2am arrivals rather than normal times and c) was only £200 cheaper than easyjet and still required a hefty chunk of mileage and cash.
If you are traveling with kids I think they have the same luggage allowance ? So a family of four could have four cabin bags? Still a money grab though ...
Cheers..
Jase
Think yourself lucky you know before travelling. I'm away with work and have now found out one leg of my return trip is with a different airline so I lose 10kg of luggage allowance and have restrictions on the size of carry on. Thankfully my carry on is fine but to drop 10kg may mean dumping some kit over here rather than pay an excess. If I'd known before I left home I would have packed accordingly.
I think it costs about £20 each way to put hold baggage on. I think it's a bit OTT to call this a bombshell and I can't see what you've got issue with.
The carrier is going to get their costs one way or another. If they didn't add this cost, then their ticket price would go up....in essence those who then fly with their cabin bag end up paying for your families hold bags. Unfair IMO.
Skinny bloke's bag has to go in the hold. That means handling it from check in which the airport likely charges for, transporting it to the plane, manually putting it on the plane and then repeating the whole process when the plane lands. I get your point but I think the baggage charges reflect the handling costs the carrier faces.Personally I think the whole charging for luggage is a con, think of it this way ....
Skinny bloke going away for a couple of weeks with a large bag so he pays for his ticket plus extra for hold luggage.
Great big fat bloater (*) going away for a couple of nights stuffs a pair of clean under-crackers in his pocket and that's it.
They're sat next to each other on the flight out yet the one paying extra because of the weight affecting the flight is actually 10 stone lighter than the chap in the next seat ... it's a con, it's all about extracting additional monies from people they know have no choice but to pay. Whilst I can appreciated the business model these companies follow, anyone daft enough to think what they pay will be the "headline price" is in for a shock.
Won't be long before these airlines will be weighing passengers and charging prices based on your own weight!
(* before anyone gets offended - I'm a big fat bloater
This is the thing, we're use to paying an all inclusive price for being flown anywhere, now what's happening is we are paying separately for all aspects of a flight, the seats, food, luggage etc as the carrier shows the bare bones headline price to get you to choose them.
Cheers..
Jase
BA have the cabin luggage only fare now also. If you want more you pay simples.
I would be paying for hold luggage for a holiday.
It's nothing new. But these policies have changed the behaviour of the average budget flyer - now, certainly for most EU city destinations, almost everyone crams everything into a carry-on case to avoid the fees. The fact that you check in online to save further fees means that there is no need to go to the check-in desk if you're not looking to stow an item in the hold.
We flew Ryanair to Barcelona last weekend. The plane was full and almost everyone in the long snaking queue(s) had a bag pretty close to (or exceeding) the carry-on allowance with them. Before boarding the gate staff walked up and down the line and (rather than picking out oversized bags and demanding £50 to put them in the hold) handed out 'free' hold luggage tags to lucky punters who had wheely cases or other 'proper' luggage rather than holdalls or rucksacks. These people are told to leave their bag at the bottom of the stairs when boarding the plane.
Ryanair state in their T&Cs that they'll do this on busy flights, as the overhead lockers can only cope with 90 something full sized carry on bags.
Only one of our group of six people was selected for this, which resulted in all of us waiting around at the carousel in Barca for above 20 minutes.
Just a fact of life with the current pricing structure. I'm sure they'll try something different soon enough. You can usually choose to add a checked bag right up until the day of departure for considerably less than they sting you for if you turn up with something unannounced. I'd go for that for a week or more holiday every time. Couple of nights away and carry-on is straightforward though.
My biggest hassle with it is the liquids restriction. I wear contact lenses and my solution comes in 200ml bottles so is banned from carry on. I have to decant into smaller bottles or buy a different brand on top of my regular contract solution. far from ideal and a bit of a faff - but not worth getting upset about...
another +1 for the this is nothing new on sleazyjet - since a few years I have been using easyjet and this has always been the case (no pun intended)
we (a family of 4) tend to be ok with 2 x 20Kg cases and 4 x handluggages (we normally only use 3)
What was new policy about a year ago was that they had 2 sizes for cabin baggage - the smaller size always guarranteed and the larger (BA size) could be asked to be put in the hold on very busy flights.
Wizz Air operate a two tiered hand baggage policy which catches a lot of people out, anything much bigger than a day-pack incurs a charge. It can be a welcome diversion observing people trying to force their larger cabin bags into the sizing frame (and double the entertainment if they are successful, when it has to be removed).
KLM also introduced charges for hold luggage for passengers taking flights within Europe.
Six months after doing so they were begging passengers not to take too much cabin baggage on because there was no room for it all.
I thought that the charges were aimed at encouraging walk-on walk-off customers, reducing the amount of baggage handling and thus speeding up turn around times, an aircraft on the ground isnt earning any money.
Chaps
I use EasyJet about 7 or 8 times a year to fly to a second home in Spain.
I quite often fly with just my passport in my back pocket and nothing else.
EasyJet and Ryanair have been a Godsend to an awful lot of people because many prices are lower today than they were 20 years ago.
The old adage applies - no one is forced to use them and the rules are specified in crystal clarity in the booking process. If you don't like the rules, fly with another airline.
Budget airlines have allowed millions to travel and that should be recognised and appreciated.
Regards
Mick
They were / are. Trouble is they've been too successful and now, as everyone does it, there isn't room in the cabin for all of the bags.
You're lucky you can travel to your second home with just your passport - I assume you have clothes, toiletries and other essentials when you there. However most people aren't in that position and will need to take at least a few belongings with them on a trip overseas.
You're quite right though about budget airlines making travel more accessible to the masses.
And me too to our house in Turkey. The carry on bag I take with me is normally more than half empty. The new planes on the Bodrum route also seem to have rather more legroom too.
There's not much wrong with Easyjet as long as you're expecting it but the salutary lesson here is not to delegate travel arrangements to somebody you don't fundamentally trust (perhaps there's another one about not going on holiday with relatives but we won't go there). We have a travel agents at work but there's no way that I'd trust somebody who spends their working life in a call-centre in Birmingham to decide how I get from A to B and what airports I use to do it; I always do my own research and tell them exactly what flights I require (I seem to remember one trip to India where I went out Luftwaffe however most of my colleagues got booked with Alitalia - .
There are also some people who will just book a budget airline because they assume they're the cheapest and this is often not the case - particularly once you count the extras. Over the number of years that I've done my London-Berlin commute there was only one period of about 18 months when Easyjet were reliably the cheapest carrier - whereas for a good two years it was Swiss, for example.
I admire those who manage a travel on a regular route with no check-in luggage; I'm fairly well quartermastered in both locations but always end up bringing a suitcase.
i can go away for a 7/10 days with one of these and its still under the new guidelines for most airlines
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50x40x20-E...item41843bd783
inside it i manage to squeeze in the following and im a fat sod so larger clothes !
2 pairs jeans
6 shorts
11 polos
3 shirts
3/4 tshirts
beachtowel
socks and underwear
1 pair footwear
ill be wearing other footwear and flip flops are couple of quid when get there
I can imagine for two weeks and with kids etc its a struggle and id certainly have paid for hold luggage then in that scenario
Last edited by Seamaster77; 29th June 2015 at 19:34.
EasyJet is a commercial organisation - not a charity or a government body.
The only reason that easyJet exists is to make a profit (and/or increase shareholder value) - once it stops doing that, it has no reason to exist. And as a plc, the board are legally obliged to maximise that profit/shareholder value.
I fly easyjet or Ryanair each week, July is four return flights to Amsterdam via easyjet, ten years ago this would have cost me £200 return I now do it with enough cloths for four days business in my carry on for £ 60 return. It normally cost me more to park at the airport. Yes if everyone turns up with carry on it doesn't fit (over head holds 95 cases) so they stand at departure taking bags to put in the hold for free, trouble is you then have to wait at the other end. Why pay speeding boarding? I landed at Southend airport the other night, because I had speedy boarding I was row 3 seat c carry on only. I got off the plane, walked to my car in the long stay car park (Southend is great) and could still see people coming off the same flight. Speedy boarding guarantees you'll get your case as carry on and they also now let you take a personal bag in addition. I admit I now pay £150 a year to be a premium plus member so I get to book my seats, speedy boarding, two carry on cases and fast track security on each flight.
I compare it to going to the cinema, what would you do,if they said each ticket cost £ 20 but included popcorn, a drink and choice of seat. Or £10.00 they choose the seat and no popcorn or drink unless you bring your own. We'd all take then £10 but then start to complain they charge us to choose our seat or buy popcorn.
I see the real problem is that we see the cheap price then expect the same service we used to pay more than double for.
Recent return trip to london, from Gibraltar on easyjet was about 670 quid for 4 of us (2 hold cases, 4 hand luggage) (to gatwick though)
BA same trip about 800 quid but includes drinks food, better legroom normally, 4 cases and 4 hand luggage plus personal bag, and went to heathrow (which was cheaper for us to get to the centre) and better timeslots
(got delayed though quite rare for BA, whereas with easyjet and Monarch its nearly always a given ...)
Also with BA they guarrantee you seats together as a family always - no need to pay extra to book your seats. They even gave out goody bags for the kids...
Book in advance, pre-book your seats, hold luggage if necessary and you're smiling. Just don't drink their coffee - its sh ahem not nice ;)
Airlines hate hold luggage as they then then have to delay flight if you get pissed and don't turn up on time. If it's hold luggage only then they can just bugger off if you're late. Quicker turnaround and more profit.
Personally i fly every week on BA hand luggage flights and it's amazing how much you can take when you get your head around it.
(ironically this week in sweating my arse off in Luton airport waiting on an easyjet flight)
Here's one way around it - Rewind singer collapses after wearing 12 layers of clothing on flight.
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