A businessman enraged by having to pay extra to Bmibaby for his hand luggage has uncovered a mistake that could mean thousands of travellers may have shelled out unnecessarily to the airline.
Leicester-based Kiran Somaiya was travelling with the budget carrier from East Midlands airport to Amsterdam when he was asked to put his hand luggage in a measuring cage to check if it was small enough.
He could not fit it in and was required to pay £30 each way but when he arrived in Amsterdam he tried to fit his luggage into another cage and found it fit easily.
The Daily Mail reports that it has now become clear that these measuring cages are smaller than the measurement guidelines outlined on the airline’s website.
It is also alleged that the cages at the departure gates have rounded corners meaning some cases that pass the size test at check-in then don’t fit at the gate, incurring charges.
The Mail reports that Bmibaby has admitted the mistake and will change the super-small cages at its 30 UK airports.
by Dinah Hatch
