Flights with British Airways

Re: Hand baggage

About a month ago I bought a small wheelie suitcase from IKEA (in England). It was about £7.50 (with a 'Family' card). The brilliant thing about it is that not only is it the correct dimensions to take onto the plane it also folds up when not in use! Believe it or not, it is fairly sturdy too. Perfect!

Jane

The budget airlines have been told that they must show the "real" cost of a flight in adverts.  No more flights for a pound plus 37 pound charges.  They are, therefore, coming up with more and more "extras" to whang the price up while keeping the headline price down.  A recent Easyjet flight from E Mids to Alicante was £37.99 but actually came to £98 when "extras" were added.  It's all well and good saying hand luggage only if you are going for a quick weekend but a summer trip for a fortnight with kids makes this a bit impractical especially if you want to bring stuff back with you (booze, fags, oranges, chocolates etc). 

Things like extra charges for luggage, booking in, fuel surcharges, preferred boarding, sitting together and (this one really gets my goat) paying by debit card (until they come up with a way of stuffing fivers down a phone line, how else are you going to do it?) and 3 times the cost for a credit card payment will really push the charges up.

The same flight with BA was equal to that of EasyJet.  What you see on the front page with BA is the price you pay, with the budget airlines you're usually on page 3 before the true cost actually hits you.  Unfortunately, for me, BA flies from inconvenient airports (Gatwick to Alicante only) which means the trip to the airport is 3 times longer than the flight time.

The budget airlines say they are "rewarding" passenger who book online, only have hand luggage and can get on and off with the minimum of fuss.  The flight in the first paragraph was £39.98 on page one.  After taxes and charges it was £78.51.  Add on £18 for baggage and check-in fees (you have to pay to check-in if you have have hold luggage) it became £96.51.  Finally, add on the £2 debit card charge and the final cost was £98.51 or almost £60 more than the opening figure.  If you don't want to fight your way to the front of the queue, you can pay £7.50 for priority boarding which puts the same flight at over £105.  If you use EasyJets Speedy Boarding and then get bussed to the flight, you lose the advantage of getting on first.  You may get on the bus first but not necessarily on the plane first.  At least with BA (and BMIBaby) you get allocated seating which is, surely, what Easyjet should be offering?  Of course, Ryanair have these "extras" down to a fine art and stick a "fuel" surcharge on every flight.  If you don't pay the fuel surcharge, can they glide across the channel?  How can fuel be an extra?  It's like getting on a bus and the driver having a whip round when he pulls in to the nearest Shell garage after you've paid your fare!!!!

The budget airlines can argue all they like and set prices as aggressively as they want but there will come a time when the customer, us passengers, will feel let down that the promised prices do not materialise and will start looking elsewhere.  We booked Priority boarding with EasyJet from East Mids but, even though my receipt showed we had paid it, their computer system failed to show that we had so we had to take pot luck.  Fortunately the flight was half empty so we managed to get seats together which begs the question, why did we pay for Priority boarding in the first place?  All Easyjet have done is tell me they will credit the boarding on the next flight we take but we have to book by phone which whangs the price up by (you guessed it) the £7.50 we originally paid anyway.

If you can use a scheduled airline as opposed to a budget airline, do so as you will be treated far better and get what you pay for.  Unfortunately, most scheduled airlines are from inconvenient places for most of us so I guess we will continue searching for the ten quid flight which has sixty quid "extras", being treated like a herd of sheep and being pushed and shoved in ever increasing queues while carrying all our luggage in a Tesco plastic bag.

On the bright side, it is now cheaper to fly than it was 10 years ago, even taking into account inflation.  I suppose we get the service we deserve but DON'T IT MAKE YOUR BLOOD BOIL?

As an update on the previous post, a 10 trip to Spain in March gives the following;

BA Gatwick to Alicante total cost for 2 is £187.  This includes hold luggage, seat allocation and all charges - no charge for debit card but there is a charge for a credit charge.

EasyJet East Midlands to Alicante cost for 2 is £229.  This includes hold luggage, booking in fees, charges but no seat allocation or priority boarding.  Does not include £2 debit card charge

Headline charge for BA was £93.50, EasyJet headline charge was £97 including taxes and charges so an extra £34 for luggage, booking in fees etc.

Shame Gatwick is so inaccessible to me.

I've just had a look on the site to see what extra's now have to be paid for.

I know about paying for luggage each way (£3.99 shown on site) but what other things need to be paid for now?

I haven't booked a flight since the winter schedule came out and then baggage was still free.

Are you saying that you have to pay to use the check-in desks?  If so how much?

I love your comment about stuffing fivers down the phone line.

When I was booking the flights last year I had to book one via the phone because of the price promise.  I used the premium rate number and the operator took for ever, afterwards More reminded me that I could have looked on "sayno2090" website and found another number.  Especially as with my telephone provider calls are free at weekend.

Whilst looking at site I noticed that the charge for changing a flight is £17.50, outragous especially as I will be doing all the work on-line.  I'm sure it used to be £10.  It may be cheaper to just book a new flight.

Bobaol.

I agree wholeheartely with your comments re the low cost airlines and their additional charges.

The whole situation stinks.

Its just such a shame that the BA flights to Alicante you mention, in common with those to Malaga are operated by GB Airways. Make the most of them whilst you can, because GB Air have been sold out to Easyjet...

Not only do Ryanair charge for luggage in the hold, they are now charging if you checkin at the airport.

Airport Check in with no luggage = £6

Airport Check in with 1 checked piece of luggage = £18

I looked at some flights today for May half term (24th - 31st) for 2 people

BA (GB AIrways) = £1066

Ryanair = £726

Easyjet = £635

The latter 2 are with speedy/priority boarding & 1 checked in bag per person.

Even allowing for the scrum & appalling food & extortionate prices for drinks - why would anyone pay over £400 more for 2 flights than they have to?

The thing that really annoys me with Easyjet is the way that their prices fluctuate so madly. I booked for August on the day the flights were released & got 2 flights for £177. The exact same flights had gone up to £511 within 2 weeks & now they are back down to £370 ish

Noreen

Someone said that Easyjet flights went up with the number of hits the website gets, not the amount of seats actually booked.  Perhaps they think the flight is popular so why not charge more.

So if the price is increasing when you're searching then it might be worthwhile to log out and try again later.

I do have personal experience of booking a flight for two friends to join us, it was cheaper to book each person individually that together, so perhaps they sell the tickets in blocks and when I was booking it was at the end and beginning of the next price increase.

I was aware of the charges that Ryanair make as I recently did a booking for a friend, to book as you have quoted it cost over £60 in charges.

Bobaol said that he has recently booked with Easyjet and I wanted to know if there where hidden charges which we are not being told about.  ie paying to use a check-in desk as Ryanair does.  (noticed they have doubled the prices as well)  Taking off the bag charges there's still £18 unaccounted for.

So far Easyjet charge for

Speedy Boarding

Luggage for the hold

They don't charge anything different if you checking on line or at the airport - I suppose the time will come though!

Noreen

That's what I thought Noreen but Bobaol said he paid an extra £34 than the price shown on the 1st page which gives each flight + taxes.  Also he says that it didn't include the debit card fee of £2.

I just want a rough idea as I will be booking a flight shortly for my sister and I to go in April/May, the website tells you what it costs per case but I can't tie it in with what B says.

Semi

For Easyjet the headline prices on the first screen that you get once you put in your route & dates are inclusive of all taxes.

Once you choose the specific flights you then have speedy boarding, insurance & hold baggage as the 3 options that you can take or leave.

I have never come across any additional charges once those choices have been made apart from the 2% fee for credit cards.

I know that with Easyjet once you move to the 2nd screen they split out the cost of the flight & taxes into separate figures but they do add up to what the figures were on the first screen. I have tried putting in a few sample dates & I can't see where there is any further difference.

I guess only Bobaol will be able to solve this one!

Noreen

Sorry, I'd forgotten to "untick" the insurance box.   If you don;t remove it, it automatically adds insurance.

Also checked flights on BA (yes, run by GB AiR) from Gatwick - Alicante for a week in June.  Total price £192 for 2 on 4th June.  includes bags, no debit card fee and allocated seats.

EasyJet Eastmids-Alicante same dates is £239 for two (and this time I unticked the insurance) plus the £2 debit card fee without allocated seats.

BMIBaby for the same dates are £245.76 WITHOUT Baggage (£5.99 per case if booked at the same time - £10 if not pre-booked). 

Monarch on the same dates Birmingham-Alicante with bags (3.99 each each way) but without allocated seating is £280.

Moral 1 - look around for the best deals but don't believe the first quoted price.

Moral 2 - Look at the small print for hidden extras like insurance.

Moral 2 - Look at the small print for hidden extras like insurance.

I don't think it's fair to say that the insurance is a "hidden extra" with Easyjet, Bob. It says it quite plainly & has a box to remove charge should you not want it.

Taken from a booking I just began making on Easyjet website.

.

Flight booking: Your flight basket (step 3 of 5)

Change currency to: Select Currency... Pounds Sterling (£) Euros (€) Swiss Francs (CHF ) Danish Krona (Dkr ) Czech Krowns (Kč) Hungarian Forints (Ft) Polish Zloty (zł) Slovak Koruna (Sk) Moroccan Dirhams (Md) Your flight shopping basket for 1 adult				Information and options
Flights	Wednesday 27 February	Bristol to Murcia flight 6013; dep. Wed 27 Feb 16:35 arr. Wed 27 Feb 20:10	£32.99 per person (incl. taxes and charges)	Speedy Boarding Plus   Get ahead of the crowd with Speedy Boarding Plus! Check in at dedicated priority desks plus be among the first to be called to board your flight – all for just £5.50 per person. Speedy Boarders get the widest choice of seats, provided you’re at the gate when boarding starts. If you are bussed to the aircraft we can’t guarantee that you’re off the bus first.
	Saturday 22 March	Murcia to Bristol flight 6012; dep. Sat 22 Mar 10:50 arr. Sat 22 Mar 12:25	£37.99 per person (incl. taxes and charges)	Speedy Boarding   Be among the first to be called to board your flight for just £7.50 per person. Speedy Boarders get the widest choice of seats, provided you’re at the gate when boarding starts.
Speedy Boarding	Treat yourself to Speedy Boarding: Be among the first to be called through the boarding gate. Where available, check-in at dedicated desks with Speedy Boarding Plus. Total price for this booking will be:   £13.00
Great value travel insurance has been added automatically to your basket for your convenience and peace of mind. We strongly advise you not to travel without travel insurance. Please check the details below. You can click ‘Remove’ if you already have insurance or this insurance is not suitable.
Travel insurance	27 Feb 2008 – 22 Mar 2008	European single trip travel insurance Covers persons aged 2 and over, with no upper age limit. Infants covered for free with an insured adult. Includes Cancellation, Medical, Baggage, & Other	£27.50 (per adult)
This exclusive offer for easyJet customers is subject to Mondial Assistance Group’s terms and conditions and medical warranty.  You may cancel this insurance within 14 days of purchase (conditions apply). Changes to date, destination or passenger names will invalidate parts or all of this policy. Best price guarantee: find the same cover for less and we’ll double the difference. Best Price Guarantee terms and conditions. Additional offers including winter sports and annual multi-trip are available after you book your flights.
	1  Hold bag(s) per one-way flight between all passengers combined		£7.98 (total cost for this booking)	More choice for you! *Fly without hold bags – pay less *Fly with hold bags – pay more Each hold bag is charged at £3.99 per one-way flight Each passenger is entitled to carry 20 kg of hold baggage spread over a maximum of 8 hold bags. Excess weight fees will be payable at the airport if the total weight exceeds 20 kg. Change the number of hold baggage for this booking to suit your needs. Further bags can be added online at any time via My easyJet.com. Purchasing additional bags does not increase your weight allowance. Bag charges are non-refundable. More choice for you! *Fly without hold bags – pay less *Fly with hold bags – pay more Each hold bag is charged at £3.99 per one-way flight Each passenger is entitled to carry 20 kg of hold baggage spread over a maximum of 8 hold bags. Excess weight fees will be payable at the airport if the total weight exceeds 20 kg. Change the number of hold baggage for this booking to suit your needs. Further bags can be added online at any time via My easyJet.com. Purchasing additional bags does not increase your weight allowance. Bag charges are non-refundable.
	The 1 passenger(s) in this booking may check in a combined total of 1 hold bag(s) for each flight on this booking. The 20kg hold bag weight allowance (per passenger) does not increase with the addition of further hold bags. 0 hold bag(s) 1 hold bag(s) 2 hold bag(s) 3 hold bag(s) 4 hold bag(s) 5 hold bag(s) 6 hold bag(s) 7 hold bag(s) 8 hold bag(s)

LOL well now we know, you certainly had me wondering what was going on.

Just goes to show how suspicous we all are of the low cost airlines.

After hearing the report of all the extras Jet2 are adding on the 3 page of the booking form, I'd rather know as soon as a change occurs.

Mind you if you have to fly from a particular airport then really you have no choice.

One good thing I've added to my pathetic posting score

On the other hand, if you booked those June flights on the same day but the other way round, ie Alicante - East Mids, the cost would be €464 for euros.  At todays rate that's about £351.

And surely insurance should be "add if you want it" not  "remove if you don't want it".  Quite easy to miss, especially when you get to my age and are too vain to wear specs. But that's another story.

insurance should be "add if you want it" not  "remove if you don't want it". 

I have to agree but if they want your money (as they do) then I understand why it's arranged for us to remove it.

You could buy contacts Bob.

Saw this ..interesting click here  Comparisons.

Yes it is an interesting articule but as other transatlantic travellors will notice the excess baggage fee is wrong.  VA £20 a bag, I wish, the fee is $120.  A friend flew with BA to New York and got caught out.  They checked in a couple of extra small bags and were charged the above fee for each bag.

I remember watching a programme about Florida holidays when it first became a popular destination, a young couple arrived at Sanford and they had 6 small sports bags which they wanted to check in as excess luggage.  There faces were a picture when they found out each one was going to cost $100.

We've been flying to Florida yearly for over 11 years now and as a serious shopper I know the baggage rules of BA and VA off by heart.

Husband takes his clubs now and they count as one piece of luggage 

Every trip I say I'm not going to buy much but each time we have to check in an extra bag, and this was before he started to play golf   .  The rates I gave before have been the same for years, the only thing which has changed recently is the weight of the baggage for economy passengers.  Before it used to be 32kgs per bag. 

Luckily for our wallet VA have a special rate for sporting goods and we check the clubs in as the extra bag for $60.

Thinking about the rate the articule has given maybe it's referring to Virgin Sun holidays to Europe and non transatlantic flights for BA.

Still worth reading so thanks for posting it.

I only posted as I'd hate for someone else to caught out like my friend and her daughter was in New York.