Ryanair rewrites bag rules to avoid rage and delays

Ryanair has altered its bag policy

Ryanair

6 September 2017

Ryanair made good on a threat to ban all but priority flyers from taking on board a second carry-on bag, as a way of reducing delays and arguments at the gate.

The airline said it removed 50 bags per plane on average this summer, as passengers took full advantage of its two carry-on bag rule. However, travellers are increasingly flouting the rules which were supposed to allow one wheelie bag and one smaller bag, to bring two large bags, leading to disputes and long delays while luggage is removed from the cabin.

Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair’s marketing chief, said the move would cost the airline €50 million this year but ultimately would have no impact on profitability.

“Our planes are 97% full this summer and there just isn’t room in the overhead cabins for everyone to bring two big bags. We want to give passengers the flexibility to choose to travel with less luggage if they can. This is a fairer approach than just increasing our headline fare,” Jacobs said.

Stansted, Ryanair’s busiest airport, has suffered from the issue but the airline said it was a Europe-wide problem. In future, non-priority passengers will be able to bring a small bag and a wheelie bag but the wheelie bag will be taken at the gate and put in the hold for no charge.

The allowance for checked in luggage will increase from 15kg to 20kg, and the charge will be reduced by 30% to €25 (£23).

The changes will come into effect from November 1.

Ryanair’s rule changes were announced as US carrier United revealed that passengers could now check in through Amazon’s Alexa voice-assisted device.

EasyJet today said passenger numbers increased strongly in the peak holiday season, compared with August last year. The Luton budget airline carried 8.2 million passengers in August, 9.7% higher than the previous year.

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