Ryanair raises baggage fees for summer flights

Published on Tuesday 6 April 2010 21:05

PASSENGERS flying with budget airline Ryanair will have to pay more for checked-in luggage in the peak summer period, writes Jennifer Hill.

The Irish no-frills carrier will raise its per-bag fee from 15 to 20 for all bookings made after midnight tonight for travel in July and August.

The lower 15 fee for checked-in bags will be reintroduced from September.

Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said: "We are determined to incentivise passengers to travel light this summer by increasing our checked-in baggage fees for the months of July and August only.

"Over 70 per cent of Ryanair passengers will be unaffected by these changes because they travel with no checked-in bags."

But Rochelle Turner, head of research for Which? Holiday magazine, said: "Ryanair might claim that they are incentivising people to travel light, but we think it is more a case of penalising those families who can only go away on holiday during this time.

"Has (Ryanair chief executive] Michael O'Leary ever tried taking a family of four on holiday without a suitcase or two?

"Flying with Ryanair is not always as cheap as it first appears."