Maxi fantastic to Ryanair, easyJet, Volotea and Vueling for hand baggage prices | EUROtoday

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The holidays are upon us and those that have to purchase a aircraft ticket know properly that they need to additionally think about the price of baggage, which has turn out to be an more and more heavy additional expense yr after yr. The so-called ancillaries revenues (baggage and meals on board) have come to characterize a 3rd of the turnover of the principle low price airways and it isn’t clear how this merchandise is included within the calculation of airline tickets. The Spanish authorities requested for clarification on this merchandise and, after months of investigation, fined the low-cost airways Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling and Volotea for a complete of 150 million euros as a response to a authorized motion introduced by client associations. in 2023.

The causes for the fantastic

Among the explanations for the choice of the Ministry of Consumer Rights, having violated passengers' rights by charging along with the ticket additionally the biggest hand baggage, the selection of seats or the printing of the boarding move, and never permitting pay in money at check-in counters or to buy gadgets on board, in line with Spanish client rights teams OCU and Facua, which have contested the practices since 2018 whereas the ministry opened an investigation in 2023. The OCU stated in a press release that it expects different European nations to observe go well with.

The Spanish airways affiliation ALA criticized the federal government's choice as a result of, of their opinion, it violates the principles of the European Union's single market and the liberty of corporations to set their very own costs. “We defend the consumer's right to choose the best travel option,” ALA President Javier Gandara stated in a press release.

The hand baggage knot

Already in 2019, a Spanish court docket had fined Ryanair, deeming the coverage of charging for hand baggage to be abusive. But Ryanair continued with its coverage, arguing that it lies within the airways' choice to find out the dimensions of hand baggage.

The success of low-cost airways and the attractiveness of their low-price coverage has compelled many conventional airways to cease providing companies comparable to free meals and drinks or leisure on short- and medium-haul flights.