IN THE GUARDIAN
Ryanair will launch its first 'hand luggage only' flights in October as it steps up its campaign against checked-in baggage.
Europe's largest budget airline is also considering charging higher fares for the services, which it claims will be more punctual because they are guaranteed quicker turnaround times with no luggage being carried in and out of the hold.
Ryanair announced the latest crackdown on checked-in luggage as it warned the business is going through its worst period in 20 years, with a profit of €439m (£348m) last year expected to become a loss of €60m in 2009.
Howard Millar, Ryanair's deputy chief executive, said a number of UK routes will host the no-bag trials, where passengers will be limited to one piece of hand luggage only. "We are going to trial them on routes where we have a lot of passengers who are business-type groups. So maybe the first flight in the morning has bags and the second does not. You just go straight through security and on to your flight."
Asked if the flights will be priced much lower than Ryanair's average fare of €42 to reflect the savings on baggage handler and check-in staff costs, Millar added: "Maybe there will be a premium because the aircraft will turn around quicker."
Ryanair denies accusations from rivals that its bag check-in charges - £16 per return flight if checked in online or £32 if checked in at the airport - are raised regularly in order to cover the rising cost of fuel, making them, in effect, a form of fuel surcharge.
Millar today repeated the airline's pledge to eliminate check-in bags from all of its flights, which he said is key to keeping down baggage handling and costs, which will then translate to lower fares.
However, industry experts expressed scepticism that a no-bags policy will work on all flights ultimately. John Strickland, an aviation consultant, said: "Ryanair has always had passengers with bags, due to its 'second home' destinations or people going back to their families in Poland. The trials will be problematic for some of those routes."
Millar stressed that the no-bag trials would be restricted to a "selected number of flights".