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Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

bbc.co.uk

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Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#11

Post by CaptainZapp »

raverbashing wrote: post #6
wongarsu wrote: post #2

I sympathise with the consumer associations: charging for largish hand luggage makes price comparisons deceptive, distorting the market. On the other hand, storing hand luggage overhead is one of the most time consuming parts of the boarding process, which is even worse with Ryanair's short intereuropean flights. All that time spent on hand luggage costs money, and it seems only fair to make those pay that cause the…

> incentivizing people to take less luggage (bags that can be stored under your seat are still free) So how far and for how long do you think someone can fly with a luggage that fits under their seat? You can't honestly say you're selling a transportation service and let people take almost no luggage. If a fee is unavoidable, then it's not a fee, it's part of the price.

So how far and for how long do you think someone can fly with a luggage that fits under their seat?

I can't speak for everyone (and are probably an exception, since even for a 3 week vacation my luggage never exceeds 15kg). But I can easily go for a very long weekend (up to a week) with the contents of a small duffle bag that easily fits under the seat.

Which means a fresh t-shirt, underwear and socks for the entire time. It includes toileteries, something to read and a medium sized camera.

In my experience people usually pack far too much.

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#12

Post by lorenzobr »

I travel quite often in Europe and took a fairly amount of Ryanair flights as well. The amount of people rushing in to the plane and messing around when it's time to put their stuff in the overhead lockers is incredible, even as fellow passenger this is super annoying hence I don't blame Ryanair at all.

Also, even if you have to pay for the luggage, Ryanair still comes often cheaper than traditional airlines. If you want all the perks you can just fly Alitalia and you're set.

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#13

Post by sorokod »

wongarsu wrote: post #2

I sympathise with the consumer associations: charging for largish hand luggage makes price comparisons deceptive, distorting the market. On the other hand, storing hand luggage overhead is one of the most time consuming parts of the boarding process, which is even worse with Ryanair's short intereuropean flights. All that time spent on hand luggage costs money, and it seems only fair to make those pay that cause the…

> On the other hand, storing hand luggage overhead is one of the most time consuming parts of the boarding process

Depends on how you define "boarding process". My experience is that it is insignificant if the boarding process starts at the point where the boarding gates open and ends when the plane starts taxiing for takeoff.

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#14

Post by wastedhours »

11235813213455 wrote: post #3

Why not charging by passenger weight then?

I understand why this is being downvoted, and agree that it's not a nice point to try and argue - however it is somewhat irksome when I (as a recovering anorexic with a very small physical footprint) is penalised for a baggage weight allowance and yet there's no difference in seat cost between myself at 51kg and someone at twice that.

Completely appreciate there's no fair way to police it (other than that, I think Samoan airline, who charged based on the person/bag weight combination), but I think it's indicative of it all being a bit of a sham. Of course weight increases costs of flying, but is an extra 1kg in a checked bag really worse than carrying 20/30kg more of fat or muscle?

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#15

Post by bumholio »

pjc50 wrote: post #10
wongarsu wrote: post #2

I sympathise with the consumer associations: charging for largish hand luggage makes price comparisons deceptive, distorting the market. On the other hand, storing hand luggage overhead is one of the most time consuming parts of the boarding process, which is even worse with Ryanair's short intereuropean flights. All that time spent on hand luggage costs money, and it seems only fair to make those pay that cause the…

The only reason people store so much hand luggage is that the airlines charge for checked baggage. This wasn't always the case. > offer a discount if you show up without hand luggage Realistically, how many such people are there going to be who are travelling without a change of clothes? And if they win on this one, where's next on the slippery slope? Differential pricing for handbags and laptop bags? Could they mayb…

You aren't going without any luggage, but just what you can fit behind the seat in front - and you can fit multiple change of clothes there, I assure you.

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#16

Post by pjc50 »

wastedhours wrote: post #14
11235813213455 wrote: post #3

Why not charging by passenger weight then?

I understand why this is being downvoted, and agree that it's not a nice point to try and argue - however it is somewhat irksome when I (as a recovering anorexic with a very small physical footprint) is penalised for a baggage weight allowance and yet there's no difference in seat cost between myself at 51kg and someone at twice that. Completely appreciate there's no fair way to police it (other than that, I think Sa…

Baggage pricing isn't really about cost, it's a means of (a) taking the cost out of the list price, like ebay when posting prices weren't included; and (b) doing price discrimination against customers.

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#17

Post by dagw »

pjc50 wrote: post #10
wongarsu wrote: post #2

I sympathise with the consumer associations: charging for largish hand luggage makes price comparisons deceptive, distorting the market. On the other hand, storing hand luggage overhead is one of the most time consuming parts of the boarding process, which is even worse with Ryanair's short intereuropean flights. All that time spent on hand luggage costs money, and it seems only fair to make those pay that cause the…

The only reason people store so much hand luggage is that the airlines charge for checked baggage. This wasn't always the case. > offer a discount if you show up without hand luggage Realistically, how many such people are there going to be who are travelling without a change of clothes? And if they win on this one, where's next on the slippery slope? Differential pricing for handbags and laptop bags? Could they mayb…

The simple and most reasonable way to differentiate is that anything stored under the seat in front of you is free. Anything that goes into the overhead locker you have to pay for (but still cheaper than checking in luggage)

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#18

Post by lorenzobr »

gaius wrote: post #9
bumholio wrote: post #4

Firstly, travelers are consenting adults that should understand and accept the baggage policy - or use a different airline. The market is extremely competitive. Secondly, as a person who has traveled backpack for years, I find the whole "luggage is an essential element of air transport" line quite offensive. It's a service I want to purchase but you won't let me because some guy might be confused by a price compariso…

use a different airline. The market is extremely competitive. Ryanair is the only airline to certain destinations no matter how much you are willing to pay. And they have form for manipulation. For a long time if you wanted to opt out of their insurance, you had to set that as your nationality...

> Ryanair is the only airline to certain destinations

Surely it's not Ryanair's fault if others are not willing to compete for certain destinations.

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#19

Post by close04 »

wongarsu wrote: post #2

I sympathise with the consumer associations: charging for largish hand luggage makes price comparisons deceptive, distorting the market. On the other hand, storing hand luggage overhead is one of the most time consuming parts of the boarding process, which is even worse with Ryanair's short intereuropean flights. All that time spent on hand luggage costs money, and it seems only fair to make those pay that cause the…

Isn’t this like McDonalds advertising the cheapest burger but only giving you an empty bun because the meat patty is the most time consuming part of the cooking process?

There’s already too much misdirection in airline ticket sales, we need less not more.

Re: Italy opens probe into Ryanair hand luggage charges

#20

Post by raverbashing »

CaptainZapp wrote: post #11
raverbashing wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> incentivizing people to take less luggage (bags that can be stored under your seat are still free) So how far and for how long do you think someone can fly with a luggage that fits under their seat? You can't honestly say you're selling a transportation service and let people take almost no luggage. If a fee is unavoidable, then it's not a fee, it's part of the price.

So how far and for how long do you think someone can fly with a luggage that fits under their seat? I can't speak for everyone (and are probably an exception, since even for a 3 week vacation my luggage never exceeds 15kg). But I can easily go for a very long weekend (up to a week) with the contents of a small duffle bag that easily fits under the seat. Which means a fresh t-shirt, underwear and socks for the entire…

I agree this is doable for a long weekend, but that's if you take only that and you have everything in one bag.

Seems more of an edge case than the standard. Especially with limitation of liquids in handbags.

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