Protests over Flybe luggage fee
05.02.06
New charges for checked baggage introduced by budget airline Flybe last week have angered passengers. First passengers were asked to pay for was in-flight food and drink. Then this week it was bags, as Flybe, the no-frills airline, became the first carrier to charge people for checking in their luggage.
Travellers with Flybe now have to pay either £2 in advance or £4 on the day of travel for every item of luggage checked in for each leg of their journey. Ryanair will follow suit from March 16, charging £2.50 in advance and £5 on the day for checked-in luggage.
Flybe has entitled the scheme 'Fair Deal on Baggage'. To counter the charges, ticket prices have been reduced by £1, hand-luggage allowances increased from 5kg to 10kg and hold-luggage limits extended from 20kg to 25kg.
Of the 1000 passengers who flew with Flybe from Southampton on Wednesday, the first day of the scheme, some 50 per cent had paid in advance to check in their luggage. But many of those who had not were unimpressed by the scheme. 'It's not a vast amount of money but it's an additional cost. And it's a bit cheeky,' one said
The airline defended its decision to introduce the new charge, saying that 45 percent of passengers bring only hand luggage on board flights. Jim French, the chairman of Flybe, said: 'This change is about creating a fairer environment for our passengers. Passengers checking bags into flights will pay for the service, rather than the cost being unfairly spread across all people on the aircraft.'
'This will speed up turnaround times, reduce costs and provide us with much greater operational flexibility.'
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