Horrendous airport drop off charges

[Cardhey]

AIBU to be pleased that the UK consumer watchdog is investigation the ridiculous drop off fees at airports and the increases over the past few years. It’s just a con. Hope they get banned.

Is this a special airport bus with £3 travel journey?

When I worked at Heathrow I heard rumours that it was done because of Uber etc. The airport taxis paid the airport to be in the taxi rank, then Uber came along and were cheaper so everyone used them instead and the airport taxis/airport lost out. So they introduced a charge for dropping off/picking up that meant the airport would make money out of the Ubers too..

They could sort out so many problems with the cars and parking and so on as it was years ago ( especially with tech ) but instead it’s rip off everyone instead.

There's an increasing tendency for the consumer rights groups to wade in (when pushed by howls from some of the public) and start investigating every single element of unbundled pricing structures.

It's happened recently in Europe with nasty airlines being told they can't charge for a second item of handluggage (AFAIK new rule comes into force next year).

..The airlines pointed out that carrying two bags is a personal choice, but under pressure from consumer groups the EU decided the charging was wrong and outlawed it, so in effect the minimalist packers will be financially disadvantaged next year.

Ah, but what the heck, that's another "scam" the consumer groups and politicians have stopped and the creep back to regulated fares continues.

I do think there's almost a case for the airlines (and by extension the airports) going back to bundled fares with everyone paying their way...

Say UK Med return for £400 return, regardless of when you book, what flight you book on and what luggage you bring. In the context of this thread the airlines would be then be able to pay handling/passenger charges without squealing and there would be no need for drop off fees...

How is it a scam? A scam is when you get cheated out of money and you don’t get what you pay for. They have said that if you want to drive and stop at that bit of the airport then it costs £10. Thinking that it’s expensive or not wanting to pay it doesn’t make it a scam.

Exactly. £200 for a ticket including seat selection, meal, drink and checked luggage. People are happy because everything is included in the price.

Or £100 a ticket and £25 seat selection, £50 for food and drink, £25 checked luggage and it’s a scam!

Not everybody goes on holiday with a family. Not everyone has a family. And people who live alone already have to pay disproportionately more for heating and energy bills, housing costs, holidays (single supplement), some memberships etc.

Not everyone arrives by car

If it’s bundled you can compare like for like. Theres no way of doing that now.

The bit people take issue with is not dropping the free food. It’s the extortionate price you then pay on board. Or at the airport. Or yes take lunch but you have to eat it before boarding uf you are hand luggage only as its one bag only allowed in the cabin.
It’s not really the charge for hold bags. It’s the insidious deceasing size and quantity of bags allowed in the cabin. So more people have to pay for hold bags - but even that is priced differently for each flight and for leg of the journey. It feels scammy because it’s not clear or obvious how much a flight will finally cost at the inset.
It’s having a drop off charge that costs more than short term parking. It’s making dropping off (convenient) deliberately inconvenient unless you pay over the odds.

I know. The last holiday I went on was alone.

Getting to the airport will cost money one way or the other. It’s a cost to factor into the holiday.

The bit people take issue with is not dropping the free food.

But there never was free food.
People have been blinded by the low headline price and then complain when they have to pay more to get extras that used to be included.

@WonderfulSmith you don't seem to have read the comment you quoted?

I object to how many airlines have removed the net bag on the seat in front where I used to stow food and drinks. Now you have to keep anything in a bag underneath the seat, and fish it out every single time you want something. I know it is to save a few seconds when the6 clean the aircraft, but it just makes the flight harder having nowhere to put things so they are easily accessible.

I can't stand ryanair and would happily never fly with them again, and pay more. But at regional airports they are often the only airline going to various destinations. So I end up flying with them and detesting their approach. I detest it so much I have at times decided to go on holiday to a different destination from the original plan just to avoid Ryanair.