What are the airlines going to fleece you for next?

[CeeJay81]

We are off on holiday in December and Jet 2's latest email is asking me if I want too guarantee our handluggage? Yes that's right for £6pp we can guarantee our hand luggage fits on the plane😯. I thought the reason they had measurements for these things was too make sure everyone's does fit on. It's not Ryanair/EasyJet, not that that should make a difference. It's a package holiday. With several posts discussing seat booking charges, am I being unreasonable for thinking this is just one step too far?

If you have got hold luggage - use the hand luggage for electronic gadgets (which are forbidden in hold), medications, passports and anything else you need quick access to between home and holiday accommodation. That means you can use a holdall

Yes we will just be using rucksacks/holdall bags. I can see some people paying for it though. A clever way to get some extra cash.

If everybody took a small wheely case on as hand luggage, there wouldn’t be enough room so some would have to go in the hold.

If you take a bag that’s small enough to fit under the seat in front you’ll be fine.

I've thought a few times that I would pay a bit to not have them trying to sell me stuff on board. Ryanair's the worst for it and their spiel about perfume can take over 5 minutes. Unfortunately, I usually don't have any choice of carrier as only they do the route.

Don't be giving Ryanair ideas.

You are travelling with handluggage only, mainly to avoid queueing at the belt for hours.

We've taken a couple of easyJet flights this year with checked-in luggage - it was on the belt pretty much as soon as we'd cleared passport control. Presumably the extra cost puts off so many people that there's very little to be unloaded.

Problem is, a lot of hand luggage is cabin sized suitcases and they fill the overhead lockers and take up a lot of space.

I flew to Florida with BA in the summer and there was a family of 6 who ALL had rolling cabin suitcases and they filled up 2 full overhead lockers, including over seats they weren’t sat in. So people were boarding after them with no space to put their bags. And on a long haul flight you want your cabin bag!!!

problem is also in the return Florida flights, people have a lot of hand baggage including droids, BIG soft toys and usually bags full of stuff because BA made several announcements that any suitcase over 23kg would be charge $100 so people frantically started moving stuff round in the check in queue.
then whilst waiting to board announcing that they needed volunteers for putting hand luggage in the hold. When of course no one volunteers they start picking people at random. That £6 ensures you won’t be one of them!!

This song sums the situation up nicely. (Very NSFW lyrics.)

Just ignore, you don't need to do that.
Never had any problem taking hand luggage.

Lol too true!

We usually take one hand luggage suitcase between all of us - which we are happy to check in FOC if asked as we would be waiting for our bigger cases anyway

That's ridiculous, people know the case weights etc before they go. I always leave room for bringing back some extras. We only have one hand luggage size suitcase between 4 of us anyway but I probably won't bother with it just in case. We can all just take a small bag each. I mean for the cabin, we have normal cases for the hold too.

I like this charging for extras stuff! Cus I’m usually happy flying light so I like to pay less! All that will happen if they take away the pay extra for stuff is everyone has to pay more for their fare

I’m going Ryanair for example to Dublin next week for 21£ with just a small backpack that fits under the seat

that suits me! I’d happily pay extra for bags if I needed them and it wouldn’t be a lot more if I add them at time of booking

They're not fleecing anyone, they're giving you a choice. If there isn't space for everyone's cabin bags, someone's has to go in the hold, and you can pay a few £ to make sure it isn't yours.
I honestly don't understand why some people object so strongly to their bag being put in the hold free of charge. People are talking about their bag being "taken off them" as though it was being stolen!

Some airlines will now charge for cabin bags. Basically if it doesn't go under a seat, they'll sting you for it.

Have I got this right - there is a charge for a piece of hand luggage and then a separate charge to ensure that your hand baggage is kept with you?
So rather than it being a rarity that your hand baggage is put in the hold, your bag is put in the hold unless you pay.

You don't have to pay. It's just insurance against the risk and anxiety that your cabin luggage may end up in the hold. If there is too much cabin baggage, sometimes the staff in the departure lounge or at the bottom of the steps at time of boarding ask for your bag and hand you a luggage ticket.

It's all part of the business model you "buy into" when you choose to book with a low-cost airline.

I love it when people say things like this. How else are you going to fly into Europe, unless you’re on a private jet?

People say this when Ryanair etc come up - I don’t get it!? It a kind of snobbery that makes zero sense

Accept I was talking about Jet 2, who have tend to have good reviews not Ryan Air.

Yes, easyJet you just get one under seat sized bag free, and have to pay for a larger cabin bag (inc misnomer 'speedy boarding').

YANBU. Ridiculous. I'd have thought better of Jet2!

On the rare occassion that I travel with a wheely case I always volunteer to have it put in the hold. Saves me the stress of trying to find a space for it in the cabin, and it's quite rare that the waiting time at the baggage belt is more than 15 minutes in my experience.

This is why I prefer to make my European journeys by train. No worries about luggage, I can take as much as I can carry. Shame that Deutsche Bahn are so unreliable.

This is why I prefer to make my European journeys by train. No worries about luggage, I can take as much as I can carry. Shame that Deutsche Bahn are so unreliable.

We're intending to use trains more, seems like some parts should be fine (eg Switzerland, booked seats on TVG in france) but not sure about some of the rest...recent experience of packed standing room only TER train in france on a day out, luggage would have been physically impossible. That's probably a whole other thread or six!

BA? TUI? Lufthansa? Swiss air? Air France? KLM?

There isn’t anywhere I want to go THAT badly that I’d choose an airline I didn’t want to use. I never get it when people ask this question “Oh, but what if they were the only operator on that route?” Well, I just wouldn’t go 🤷‍♀️