Budget airlines slammed for additional charges

Checking a bag into the hold and paying an air fare by credit card could add almost a third to the cost of a flight, according to Which? Holiday.

Its researchers found the price of a flight to Paris with East Midlands-based bmibaby (www.bmibaby.com) rose by around 25 per cent 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 per cent.

Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) 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 per cent on the advertised cost of the fare.

Although Jet2 (www.jet2.com) had the highest charges, coming to £92.16, this was an increase of just 10 per cent on the advertised ticket price.

Easyjet (www.easyjet.com) consistently had the lowest luggage and card charges of the four airlines Which? Holiday looked at, adding between £26 and £38 to the cost of a flight. However, in one case this still amounted to a 17 per cent increase on the advertised price, said Which? Holiday.

Low-cost airlines often also charge customers more than the going rate for travel insurance, though this purchase is not obligatory.

Rochelle Turner, Head of Research for Which? Holiday, 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.""

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