The lowest advertised prices for hand luggage on low-cost airlines Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizz Air are rarely available to passengers. This follows from a survey by the British organization for consumer protection, writes TASR according to the euronews website.
In a recent survey, the NGO “Which?” tracked almost 1,500 pieces of luggage on eight busy routes of Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizz Air. According to her findings, they were advertised the lowest prices for hand luggage from 6.80 euros available in less than one percent of cases. It was four different dates in August, November, December and February to account for travel during and outside the tourist season.
It can be for passengers frustrating and sometimes even misleading ignorance of hand luggage fees until the end of the flight booking process. In some cases, “Which?” states that they exceed the ticket prices themselves, which are the main attraction for passengers.
In contrast companies such as British Airways, KLM and Qatar Airways still provide free hand luggage, in some cases they also charge for checked baggage.
Combined with unclear fines on low-cost carriers for baggage that doesn’t meet the criteria, hand luggage prices have come under particular scrutiny in recent years. “Which?” says it has reported its findings about EasyJet to the independent advertising watchdog (ASA), which is investigating the issue.
In the case of Ryanair, it found an advertised price of €13.70 only twice out of 634 flights – which is 0.3 percent of the time. The average price of hand luggage was 23.40 euros. Likewise, the lowest price for hand luggage with Wizz Air (10 euros) it was detected only twice out of 338 checked flights, what does it represent 0.6 percent of cases.
“Our research shows that tens of millions of travelers who need to take a carry-on will pay much more than the lowest advertised price. Instead of a few pounds, they can be prices for luggage often higher than (the price for) the flight itself,” said the editor of the magazine “Which?” Rory Boland. “The tactics used by these airlines deserve to be exposed, which is why we have shared our findings with the regulator,” he added.
