2023-10-05 02:04:00
Even if Europe chose to impose free carry-on luggage on airlines, users would end up having to pay for a service that would almost certainly end up being reflected in the price of the tickets. That is the diagnosis made by sources in the airline sector regarding the request made yesterday by the European Parliament regarding such a controversial policy.
The European Parliament approved a resolution asking airlines to allow travelers not to pay for cabin hand luggage. Although this text does not have binding powers, the European Parliament intends that the approval of this resolution serve as an incentive for the European Commission to present an initiative in this regard. If this is done, sources in the airline sector fear that it will end up being the passengers who end up paying for the alleged “free” ticket with more expensive tickets. As they explain, many companies that now do not charge separately for carry-on luggage also include this service in the price of the ticket because “in the end, everything has a cost.”
Legal right
In the case of those that charge it separately, if they are forced to board this luggage for free, “they will also end up affecting the ticket” just as the rest of the companies do now. More suitcases, they say, means more weight and more fuel costs. And they will bill that, they say.
The Association of Airlines (ALA) highlights that commercial practices such as charging for baggage in the cabin “are perfectly legal and are protected by European Regulation 1008/2008, which establishes the freedom to set fares.” The passenger, they added yesterday in a statement, “is always aware of the price of the flight that he has selected from the beginning, being able to choose the services he needs and end up paying for the ones he needs.”
ALA says that these practices “respond to the principle of giving consumers the ability to choose, so that each consumer, at all times, can choose what they need.” In addition, they specify that it must be taken into account that there are many passengers who travel without hand luggage, which in the case of some airlines represent up to 40% of their customers; and that by fragmenting services “it is possible to choose and pay only for those that are really needed.”
The companies also explain that the charging for this baggage has to do with an operational issue. “There is a tendency to carry the suitcase in the cabin and not check it in, but planes do not have the physical capacity to accommodate all the small suitcases of all the passengers in the cabin,” they warn. According to ALA, no more than approximately 90 can fit, depending on the type of plane. In cases where it exceeds that capacity, they must be taken to the warehouse, “which can cause delays in departure,” they warn.
Judgment
The European Parliament bases its request on a ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union from 2014 in which it is stated that “with regard to unchecked baggage, that is, hand luggage, it must be indicated, in order to provide a complete answer to the referring court, that such baggage must be considered, in principle, an indispensable element of the transport of passengers and that its carriage, therefore, cannot be subject to a price supplement, provided that such baggage meets reasonable requirements regarding its weight and dimensions and complies with applicable safety requirements.
Despite this ruling by the high court of justice, during these nine years more and more airlines that base their business model on affordable flight prices have decided to charge for their carry-on luggage and the Community Executive has not moved. Furthermore, taking into account that each company introduces different standards on the measurements of hand luggage, travelers are especially disadvantaged when they have to undertake journeys that involve stopovers. For this reason, the resolution approved by the European Parliament also calls for these criteria to be harmonized.
Last August, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs decided to open an infringement file against several companies operating in Spain for charging for hand luggage. Among them are Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet and Volotea. The amount of these possible fines ranges between 10,001 and 100,000 euros in cases of serious infringements and between 100,001 and one million euros in very serious cases. Following this announcement from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Ryanair announced that it was not planning to change its rules on charging for hand luggage.
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