EU Parliament to low-costs: free baggage and choice of seat on board. But there's a 'catch'
Want to ship checked luggage? Pay for it. Want to keep your trolley in the cabin, in the overhead compartments? Pay. Want to pick your own seat [...]
Want to ship checked luggage? Pay for it. Want to keep your trolley in the cabin, in the overhead compartments? Pay. Want to choose your own seat on board the plane? Pay. Low-costs are like that. You pay a premium for everything, in addition to the cost of the ticket. Also to carry modest luggage in terms of size and weight.
In this article:
Those who can (because they are away for a day or two) have already adapted, taking along the bare essentials in backpacks that they manage to fit into the space under the seat in front. But those who leave, for work or vacation, for a few more days have little choice: they pay. And the cost of the trip, especially if he sends a suitcase in the hold, can reach double (or even more) the price of the ticket, which practically only gives access to the plane.
Last summer's controversy over skyrocketing flight prices only touched on this, because it focused on fares and not on what, albeit with a stretch, are called ancillaries, or nonessential services.
Following a German passenger's petition, however, the European Court of Justice issued a ruling a few months ago saying that "surcharges should not be applied provided that luggage possesses certain requirements relating in particular to its weight."
Leveraging that pronunciation, the European Parliament, in a resolution passed with the support of all political groups, has decided to say no more to surcharges for hand luggage on airplanes, in a resolution passed with the support of all political groups, decided to say no more about surcharges for carry-on luggage on airplanes.
In the text voted by the assembly MEPs call for new EU rules not to be limited to the issue of baggage but also to address other hidden costs, such as fees related to seat allocation. Yay.
But there is the 'catch'. The resolution passed in Strasbourg, in fact, has no binding character, but that of a recommendation. So European low-cost airlines will continue to behave as they have done so far. However, there is one hope: that the Eurocamera vote will push the European Commission to act on this front as well in the ongoing process of revising current EU air services legislation.
