| Are airline flight charges verging
on the ridiculous? By Niamh Hennessy
DO you feel that every time you go to book a flight you are hit with
a new charge?
In recent months we have seen an increase in credit card charges, baggage
charges and now Aer Lingus are even charging if you want to pick your
own seat on board.
This begs the questions what next can airlines charge us for?
10p for using the toilet:
Airlines could soon take the attitude that train and bus stations charge
for using the toilet so why can’t they?
This would work by making people pay 10p every time they need to go to
the loo on-board a flight.
The airlines would possibly start the charge at 10p and before long we’ll
be paying £1 for every time we need to use their toilet facilities.
Priority luggage while waiting at the conveyor belt:
Everybody knows what a pain it is to stand by the conveyor belt for ages
while waiting for your luggage to appear.
Airlines could cash-in on customers who don’t want to have to wait
and charge them for priority luggage arrival at the conveyor belt.
People in a hurry would undoubtedly be prepared to pay an extra few pounds
if they were guaranteed to have their luggage waiting for them when they
arrive.
Airlines may find this a tough one to implement as it is the airport’s
responsibility to bring the luggage from the plane to the conveyor belt.
Logging onto the airline’s website:
Why not the airlines might say. They know customers have to log-on to
book a flight so why not make some money out of it.
Choose your meal online before you fly:
This could be done online while you book your flight and would be aimed
at people taking a short-haul flight early in the morning, lunchtime or
teatime.
A person rushing to a meeting in Ireland might enjoy the luxury of having
a hot toasted sandwich waiting for them when they board their flight.
Mobile phone charges:
It won’t be long before we’ll be hearing the sounds of the
latest ringtones on board a flight.
Airlines can cash-in big time on this as the country’s continued
reliance on mobile phones continues.
Overweight passengers:
The airlines are already charging for overweight baggage so it could not
be long before they set weight restrictions for passengers and charge
anybody who is overweight.
Ice?
It’s not nice when you order a beer or gin and tonic and it’s
warm. Airlines could charge a few pence extra for having your drink served
with ice.
What’s a few pence if you’re getting a nice cold drink some
may think. But that few pence could result in thousands in extra revenue
for the airlines.
And a bit of advice:
Michael Roach, founding president of America West Airlines, said the best
ways to avoid most of the extra charges is: Don’t change your flight.
Don’t buy food or drinks on board. Pack light. Check-in inside the
airport.
But what does Ryanair say when asked about their charges?
Peter Sherrard, Head of Communications at Ryanair said: “Catch a
grip! — Ryanair’s current average fare is 41 euros and this includes
bag revenues and taxes and charges. It is less than half of Aer Lingus’
91 euros short-haul average fare and far lower than any other airline in Europe.
“The baggage charges are entirely discretionary and we would prefer
not to receive any revenue from them.
“The whole idea is to encourage passengers not to pay us by travelling
without checked-in bags and using the 10kg of free hand luggage allowance.
This significantly lowers our costs and allows us to offer even more low
fares.”
And you never know...:
What about:
Charges for safety belts to strap yourself in; The hire of a life-vest
at the exit door if the plane is about to crash; Priority use of the exit
doors if there’s a crash.
Supplementary seat charges start to add up
SUPPLEMENTARY charges could add an extra 29 per cent to the headline
price of an average short-haul flight with Aer Lingus once the airline’s
online seat-allocation fees take full effect in May.
Passengers who book online with a credit card, check one bag and reserve
a seat on an exit aisle would add about £15 to the average £60
short-haul ticket.
Aer Lingus had been offering free online check-in and seat allocation
since August last year but recently began charging for the seats at an
introductory rate of £2.
From May 22 passengers will be expected to pay almost £10 for exit
aisle seats and £7 for seats in the first five rows.
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