A new survey by UK consumer watchdog Which? shows how budget airlines Ryanair, EasyJet, and Wizz Air rarely offer travellers their lowest advertised cabin bag fees.
Over the last couple of months, UK consumer organisation Which? analysed 1,500 bag prices on eight busy Ryanair, EasyJet, and Wizz Air routes for flight dates in August, November, December, and February. While the lowest advertised fees for carry-ons amounted to €6.80 per bag, customers were offered that option in around 1% of the cases.
Travellers mostly ended up paying more than initially expected, which is especially deceiving since cabin bag fees are usually only shown at the end of the booking process. While some decide at that moment not to book a flight or not to include a carry-on, others are drawn in by the initial process and simply end up paying more than they intended to. Sometimes, the price for the cabin luggage even exceeded the ticket fare.
@living_with_becky @Ryanair at it again… 🫠🤬 #dublinairport #ryanair ♬ Anxiety – Doechii
“Our research shows that the tens of millions of passengers who need to take a cabin bag will pay much more than the cheapest price advertised- rather than a few pounds, prices for bags can often be more than the flight itself. The tactics used by these airlines deserve to be called out, that’s why we have shared our findings with the regulator”, stated Rory Boland, editor of Which?
Three budget airlines
According to the survey, easyJet is particularly prone to advertising misleading prices for cabin bags. Of the 520 EasyJet cabin bag prices surveyed, not one offered the cheapest option (€6.80). Instead, the cheapest fee, Which? Was able to find amounted to €26.79, while the average price went as high as €34.2 for a one-way trip.
“EasyJet’s bag options and pricing are transparent and well understood by our customers, allows them to pay for only what they want and no more, and enables us to keep fares low for everyone. This year, 100 million passengers are choosing to fly with us, and with our customer satisfaction scores up year on year, it’s clear that customers continue to value the choices that we offer”, an easyJet spokesperson commented on the survey.
Meanwhile, Wizz Air’s lowest cabin bag fare (€10) could only be discovered twice on the 338 flights checked. The airlines said Which?’s sample size was too small, given its 75 million annual passengers.
@betiniavy I still can’t get over my experience with wizz air #travel #luggage #fyp #viral_video ♬ DIM – Yves
“At Wizz Air, our bag pricing is transparent and fully compliant with consumer protection laws. Every ticket includes a free under-seat bag, and customers can choose to add larger luggage if they wish. That way, our customers only pay for what they need, which we believe is a fairer, more sustainable model than a one-size-fits-all approach. We make luggage pricing clear across multiple touchpoints and always encourage customers to purchase large cabin baggage directly and in advance to secure the best price”, a Wizz Air spokesperson said.
Over at Ryanair, the cheapest advertised cabin bag fee (€13.70) was only found twice by Which?, while 634 flights were analysed. The average cabin luggage fare amounted to €23.40. A Ryanair spokesperson called the Which? survey “total rubbish” and found the number of flights researched was statistically too small to be representative.
“So the factual position is that Ryanair customers are flocking to us in their millions, and have no problems with our optional and fully transparent bag policies”, the spokesperson said.
Following the outcome of the survey, the consumer organisation has sent its findings to the Advertising Standards Authority for examination. Meanwhile, it urges travellers to pay attention to the small print when adding luggage to their booking.
