Price rise for hold luggage

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Devils Advocate
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Price rise for hold luggage

Postby Devils Advocate » Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:55 am

Just completed the online booking for the summer visit and was amazed to see the price per hold bag per person has risen to £12 each for both trips.........i.e. £48, this was with Monarch.

Not moaning about overall price of flights but the baggage charge has leapt hugely since our flights last week and for what reason?.

What is the method in their madness? It is obvious they are trying to keep the hold empty. Is that for fuel saving purposes/baggage handling or maybe they may be looking at using the hold for mail/freight.

Thing is with larger cabin (wheelie bags) now allowed which we don't yet use and with allowance of 10kg inc. FOC we are now thinking of going along this route as many others are. At the end of the day we don't need to take clothes etc. across and the cases are mainly used to carry houshold items OH accrues for Spain.

Problem is that in my opinion, if everyone does it this way how the hell will they fit over 200 wheelie bags into the overhead lockers :? .......it's hard enough trying to squeeze our small squashy shoulder bags into a space at present if we're not sharpish in boarding :?

What is the reason for this intensifying anti-hold luggage campaign?

DA
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frank
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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby frank » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:09 am

Devils Advocate wrote:Just completed the online booking for the summer visit and was amazed to see the price per hold bag per person has risen to £12 each for both trips.........i.e. £48, this was with Monarch.
We have to fly BMIbaby (well, unless we want to drive even further than our 2 hour drive to nearest airport) and per bag and check in is £25.96 each, so £52 in total.
Regards, Frank

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Devils Advocate
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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby Devils Advocate » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:20 am

It just seems daft having hold charges more expensive than the actual flight in some instances.
The idea is obviously to show the high baggage charges on the bill to encourage people to knock it off.........I understand that.

What I don't understand is why. As I say if everyone goes the wheelie case in cabin route they won't be able to fit them all in the exiting lockers.

I also find it stange (with Monarch at least) why they weigh paid for hold lugggage yet ignore to weigh wheelie bags classed as cabin luggage.Christ knows what weights are slipping through :?

It's also poignant that during cabin crews safety briefing prior to take off they've omitted the "don't put anything heavy in overhead lockers" bit.............surprise, surprise.

DA
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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby Paula » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:35 am

I booked a flight yesterday with Monarch for July and the hold baggage charge was 9.99 one way.
The total booking was £125 which surprised me as I thought that was cheap for July. Loads of seats available too.

I have now bought the wheelie cabin allowance size bag, if you can't beat them join them! I do struggle to lift 10kg in to the overhead locker, have been lucky enough to find some helpful chap offering help so far :D The first 2 rows of seats never have any space in lockers as its full of crew stuff. Yes you do need to get on a bit sharpish if you are at the front of the plane to find a space for the luggage.

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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby frank » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:48 am

It just seems daft having hold charges more expensive than the actual flight in some instances.
Our flight going out is £6.04, and return £21, but it still amounts to around £200 :D
What I don't understand is why. As I say if everyone goes the wheelie case in cabin route they won't be able to fit them all in the exiting lockers.
I think that whilst there will be some owners, I'd guess the majority of travellers are holiday makers, and of course they will have cases.
I also find it stange (with Monarch at least) why they weigh paid for hold lugggage yet ignore to weigh wheelie bags classed as cabin luggage.Christ knows what weights are slipping through :?
We almost missed it, but from April 1 BMI dropped their suitcase limit from 20kg to 18kg, without much fanfare, so I'm betting they will catch quite a few.
It's also poignant that during cabin crews safety briefing prior to take off they've omitted the "don't put anything heavy in overhead lockers" bit.............surprise, surprise.
Years ago when they had quite a low max weight limit on hand luggage, it was said it was because it was dangerous to put anything heavy in the overhead lockers, if it fell out it would do you serious damage! :D They make it up as they go along! Despite it all, I can remember 15-20 years ago paying over £200 each to fly to Malaga, so we are still on a winner! :D
Regards, Frank

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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby Devils Advocate » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:58 am

Totally agree, my flight out is 19 quid and back is 29.........total £243!!!

For flights in July I think that's brilliant to be honest and have no complaint. It's just this thing about them wanting to do away with hold luggage and jamming the internal locker space with overweight and over sized cases that baffles me.

The other thing here too is if we do go the "wheelie cabin bag" way then we're stuffed for bringing drink or many other gift/personal usage items back home unless they're purchased at the airport :? .

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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby scotty » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:38 am

Aer Lingus now check the weight of hand luggage (max 6 kg) at check in desks in Malaga. As I only ever have passport & credit card wallet :lol: it's not an issue. But the funny part is that after being checked for weight.... you can then go to duty free and buy 10 bottles of champagne at 1kg each ! :?

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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby frank » Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:29 am

scotty wrote:Aer Lingus now check the weight of hand luggage (max 6 kg) at check in desks in Malaga.
10kg on BMIbaby, and I struggle to get all my camera gear under that weight! :lol:
Regards, Frank

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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby Wicksey » Wed Apr 15, 2009 3:23 pm

I recently travelled on Air Eurpoa and they weighed the hand luggage, but as the hold luggage was included in the cost of the ticket, people weren't going mad trying to fit everything into hand luggage in order to avoid the extra cost.

I believe that Ryanair and Easyjet are now being much stricter on the hand luggage issue and are saying that everything (including duty free and other airside purchases) must fit into your one cabin bag. When I travelled by Easyjet in February there was another staff member in addition to the ones checking the boarding passes at the gate stopping passengers with oversized bags and making them put them into the hold.

One of the security staff at Gatwick said that since the low cost airlines have been charging for hold luggage their job has become much more difficult as many people are trying to take everything on in cabin bags, which is difficult to do with the current liquids/cream/gels etc restrictions. It just seems to be a way of saying that their fares are really low, when in reality that isn't always the case. I have travelled by BA at cheaper than Easyjet fares, and BA included generous hold and cabin allowances plus a sandwich and a drink!

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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby Kamila » Wed Apr 15, 2009 4:45 pm

Wicksey, you are right about BA. We booked flight in June to UK and BA was cheaper than other airlines.

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Re: Price rise for hold luggage

Postby Jool » Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:44 pm

I think it is because it saves time on the turn arounds and means the airlines pay less to ground staff who have less to do....as its less loading and unloading, less time in arrivals hall and so on.

Problem is last few flights I´ve been on there was a real struggle to get all the bags in the overhead lockers as there were so many of them and the flight was not even full - on a full flight not a hope.

Wicksey is correct - Both RY and EJ now insist on one bag only including handbag, laptop and duty free........and RY stop passengers at the departure hall desk and make them pack them into one bag or pay for it to go in the hold..........


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