Budget carriers under fire for extra charges

Ancillary charges imposed by no frills airlines have come under fire from a consumer watchdog.

Which? Holiday claims checking a bag into the hold and using a credit card could add around 25% onto the advertised price of some tickets.

The price of a flight to Paris with Bmibaby increased by around a quarter when one piece of hold luggage was checked in and the ticket was booked using a credit card, and the price of a flight to Malaga increased by 23%, according to research by the organisation.

Ryanair charges £50 extra across all its routes for checking in a hold bag and paying with a credit card; an increase of between eight per cent and 29% on the advertised cost of the fare.

Jet2.com was found to add the most to the cost of a flight for the charges – £92.16 – this was an increase of just 10% on the advertised ticket price.

Easyjet consistently had the lowest luggage and card charges of the four airlinesWhich? Holiday syudied, ranging from £26 to £38 extra. But in one case this still amounted to a 17 per cent increase on the advertised price.

Which? Holiday head of research Rochelle Turner said:“It’s hard to believe that any airline could justify increasing the ticket price by almost a third just for checking a bag into the hold and paying on a credit card – two services that not too long ago were included in the headline price.

“Airlines argue that they are being fairer to customers who don’t use these services. But, in reality, how many people don’t use a credit or debit card to pay for their flights, or travel without luggage?

“These aren’t extra services. They are part and parcel of taking a flight.”

Easyjet spokesman Andrew McConnell responded by saying: “At easyJet, you only pay for the service you use.

“This enables us to offer low-fares to everyone and only those who chose the voluntary extras are charged for those extras.

“Handling hold baggage does increase costs to the airline which is why we pass this on to the passengers.

“However, EasyJet has one of the most generous hand baggage policies in the industry, but if passengers still wish to put baggage in the hold, our rates are the lowest.”

The research was based on comparing the prices four no-frills airlines on flights to four different destinations.

*The cost of a ticket on a Ryanair flight between East Midlands airport and Malaga increased by 29.1% when a bag was checked into the hold and the ticket was paid for using a credit card (£121.98 to £171.98).

*On a flight between East Midlands airport and Faro, the cost of an Easyjet ticket increased by 17.6% when a bag was checked into the hold and the ticket was paid for using a credit card (£121.96 to £147.96).

Flight to Price Bmibaby Easyjet Jet2 Ryanair
Initial quote £197.96 £126.04 (1) £301.96 (3) £182.26 (5,*)
Paris Final total £262.94 £152.04 (1) £359.76 (3) £232.26 (5,*)
£ extra £64.98 £26.00 £57.80 £50
% extra 24.7% 17.1% 16.1% 21.5%
Initial quote £223.96 (b) £267.76 £230.96 (3,c) £121.98 (c )
Malaga Final total £288.94 (b) £296.40 £288.85 (3.c) £171.98 (c )
£ extra £64.98 £28.64 £57.89 £50
% extra 22.5% 9.7% 20% 29.1%
Initial quote £357.98 + £650.54 (2) £818.96 (4) £519.20 (a,**)
Rome Final total £374.98 + £688.75 (2) £911.12 (4) £569.20 (a,**)
£ extra £17.00 £38.21 £92.16 £50
% extra 4.5% 5.5% 10.1% 8.8%
Initial quote £233.76 (a) £121.96 £261.96 (3,c) £200.18 (a)
Faro Final total £298.74 (a) £147.96 £321.66 (3,c) £250.18 (a)
£ extra £64.98 £26 £59.70 £50
% extra 21.8% 17.6% 18.6% 20%

Prices are based on a return flight for two people, paying with a credit card and checking in one piece of hold luggage. All flights are from East Midlands airport, Fri 12-Mon 15 Feb, unless otherwise stated.

1 London Luton 2 London Gatwick 3 Leeds Bradford 4 Manchester 5 Glasgow Prestwick
a Sat 13-Tue 16 Feb b Fri 12-Sun 14 Feb c Thur 11-Sun 14 Feb
+ Operated by partner carrier Germanwings
* Paris Beauvais (BVA)
** Rome Ciampino (CIA)