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Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

theguardian.com

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Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#2
I agree that the 20E charge to print a paper ticket seems excessive, but I'm not sure about the bag fees. I know it's a bit annoying to get nickle and dimed for everything, but on the other hand it makes sense to only charge passengers for the services they need.

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#3

I agree that the 20E charge to print a paper ticket seems excessive, but I'm not sure about the bag fees. I know it's a bit annoying to get nickle and dimed for everything, but on the other hand it makes sense to only charge passengers for the services they need.

It's about carry on bag not checked in luggage though.

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#4
Spain could also look into fining all these scammy car rental agencies that operate at or near airport. They are totally abusive and should be not just fined but fined to death.

It's these kind of things, as in TFA, that makes life miserable for tourists.

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#5
post #3

I agree that the 20E charge to print a paper ticket seems excessive, but I'm not sure about the bag fees. I know it's a bit annoying to get nickle and dimed for everything, but on the other hand it makes sense to only charge passengers for the services they need.

It's about carry on bag not checked in luggage though.

It still costs fuel to carry the weight and slows down the boarding/un-boarding process. Especially if overhead bins fill up and bags need to be, chaotically, checked in at the gate since then you also need more gate attendants. Some passengers don't need anything more than the personal under seat bag for their trip.

So charging for carry on bags is a logical approach if you wish to minimize the operating costs of the airline which budget airlines do.

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#6

I agree that the 20E charge to print a paper ticket seems excessive, but I'm not sure about the bag fees. I know it's a bit annoying to get nickle and dimed for everything, but on the other hand it makes sense to only charge passengers for the services they need.

20€ seems almost reasonable – I think I’ve seen Ryanair charge far more than 100 at some point.

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#7

Spain could also look into fining all these scammy car rental agencies that operate at or near airport. They are totally abusive and should be not just fined but fined to death. It's these kind of things, as in TFA, that makes life miserable for tourists.

I’m curious, how are those scammy? I always rent the car in advance and never had any issue, I’ve done that in Spain several times but only in the islands (Canary and Balearic).

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#8

Spain could also look into fining all these scammy car rental agencies that operate at or near airport. They are totally abusive and should be not just fined but fined to death. It's these kind of things, as in TFA, that makes life miserable for tourists.

I'd like to hear more about this.

It's always been unpleasant interacting with them, but I haven't seen anything abusive. Usually I'm told I either have to leave a huge deposit or buy insurance. Is this what the abuse is supposed to be? I don't love it, but I can't say it's a crazy notion.

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#9
My very selfish reason for becoming pro cabin bag charges is how much quicker it has made boarding planes.

The way people took the piss with the bags they brought on board before was ridiculous and resulted in a big delay of people trying to find space for their oversized bags of stuff they absolutely don't need for their weekend trip.

Re: Spain fines budget airlines €150M over 'abusive' cabin bag and seat charges

#10
I'm surprised they didn't mention TAP Air Portugal which routinely flies from Portugal to Spain using standard sized planes. They also have a number of international flights from the US to Portugal.

Their hand bag requirement is substantially smaller than most other airlines.

It's 16" x 12" x 6" (40cm x 30cm x 15cm) with a 4.4 lb (2 kg) max weight. That depth 6" / 15cm measurement is substantially smaller than most other airlines as well as the weight. Most other airlines have 2-3" (~5cm) more in depth and allow triple the weight. It makes a noticeable difference if you plan a trip with 2 backpacks.

If you happen to need to check it at the gate, they charge $80-$220 USD depending on where you're coming from and going to.

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