How cheap is that no-frills flight?
Budget airline Ryanair, which flies from Bristol Airport, will charge all passengers £5 to check in during this year's summer rush.
Meanwhile, registering in person at the airport will rise to £10 by next Thursday and rise to £20 by the start of May.
And by October the airline plans to force everyone to use an online check-in, meaning people without internet access will not be able to fly with Ryanair.
These are just the latest in the array of charges imposed by low-cost carriers that will ensure the basic advertised fare is far removed from the amount finally taken off your credit or debit card.
Most of us are familiar with taxes being added on to our base fare, but it seems as if every aspect of the process of getting into an aircraft cabin will inflate the price.
Airlines such as Ryanair claim it will allow passengers to avoid time-consuming queues and delays at airport check-in desks.
The introduction of the new system will happen over three phases.
From Thursday, passengers wanting to check bags in online will be charged £5 to do so, while it will cost £10 to check bags in at the terminal.
For those checking in online, bags will be left at desks before passengers head through security.
Anyone travelling with hand luggage only will be able to check in free of charge.
The second phase starts on Friday May 1, when the fee for checking bags in at the airport will rise to £20 to encourage people to check in online.
At this time the £5 fee for online check in will become standard.
Then, from Thursday October 1, it will no longer be possible to check in at an airport, with all passengers being required to check in online for £5.
From this date, children under 16 will no longer be able to travel unaccompanied.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara said: "Ryanair's web check-in service is used by up to 75 per cent of our passengers.
"This increasing trend has allowed Ryanair to continue to reduce our guaranteed lowest fares.
"Ryanair will phase in 100 per cent web check-in and our 'bag drop' service during summer 2009, thereby allowing all Ryanair passengers to benefit from the convenience of avoiding airport check-in queues.
"This is a first for the airline industry.
"We are confident passengers will embrace this improve service which will allow them to forever avoid check-in queues.
"At the same time it will enable Ryanair to lower our airport and handling costs and pass on these savings to all passengers in the form of even lower air fares next winter."
Most of the charges can be avoided, but it depends on your willingness to invest time and thought, and also on whether circumstances enable you to travel lightly.
Booking and checking in online, paying with Visa Electron, not being concerned about priority boarding and carrying no hold luggage will cut out most of the additional charges.
But such additions are here to stay: the general view of the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) and the Office for Fair Trading is that as long as the charges are transparent and reasonable, such measures are fair practice and legal.
"If the charges are simple and optional for things such as priority boarding and baggage, then it isn't really to the detriment of consumers," said James Freemantle, industry affairs manager for AUC.
10 Comments
by colin, Bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 10:18PM
“Mendip man,will my agreeing with you on this page never stop lol,its a pity we cant get internal flights to the London Airports.”
by Shelia, Bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 10:15PM
“Gavin, long may it remain that way.”
by MendipMan, Wurzel Country
Saturday, March 14 2009, 7:34PM
“"I look forward to the day a carrier start internal UK flights"
easyJet do operate internal flights from Bristol - have done since they took over Go at Lulsgate - Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Belfast International and Newcastle are all UK routes this airline flies locally. Ryanair are about to start a route to Belfast City Airport from Bristol. Airlines such as Aurigny, Flybe, Eastern and Air SouthWest also operate to such places as Aberdeen, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Plymouth, Newquay, Jersey and Guernsey, although not all are as consistently as inexpensive as eaysJet and Ryanair.
As for airlines not paying tax on fuel, passengers pay air passenger duty which is set at £10 per person for domestic flights (rising to £11 later this year and £12 the year after), so a person will currently pay £20 from say Bristol to Edinburgh and back. Long distance flight apd is to rise to £80 per flight, £170 for first class. These charges are included in the eventual price you pay for your flight. Rail or bus journeys incur none of this.
Although I am not a big fan of Ryanair I recognise that they and their competitors such as easyJet have revolutionised air travel in the UK provinces.
Not only have they introduced numerous routes but they are mainly at an affordable price. I remember the days when to travel from Bristol to Edinburgh or Glasgow would cost a passenger £250-£300 return whilst a journey from Heathrow to those Scottish cities would be a small fraction of that.
easyJet, Ryanair and others have enabled those residing in the provinces to enjoy the same travel freedom previously enjoyed by people living in the London area.
It might be irksome the way some lowcost airlines, with Ryanair probably the most extreme example, structure their fares but even with all the add-ons fares are still usually much, much cheaper from the likes of Bristol than they were ten years ago, except ten years ago there were few airlines and few destinations from Lulsgate operated by scheduled carriers.”
by Gavin, bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 5:03PM
“"the return air fare was 1/4 of the train fare"
That's because the airlines don't pay tax on the vast amounts of fuel they burn.”
by Mike B, Bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 4:19PM
“That's great . . . That suits me to a Tee . . :D
I only ever travel with hand luggage anyway . . .. I ain't a great drinker, before or during flights, so I won't be needing the Loo . . There must be thousands out there in a similar position who will take advantage of what they are doing.
Good ol' Ryanair . . :D . . :D”
by kev, bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 3:33PM
“what a rip off dont use ryanair”
by Adrian, Bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 3:04PM
“They'll be charging a quid to use the loos next”
by Jan, South West
Saturday, March 14 2009, 2:56PM
“I have been ripped off by this so-called cheap flights company-Ryanair. When it comes to collecting money they are very good-but when it come to repaying for cancelled flights-FORGET IT-no response ! I will never use this company again-if you take my advice-dont use them.”
by gerry, bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 12:37PM
“We are being conned with the (extra's) When booking a holiday the price you see should be the price you pay.”
by Shelia, Bristol
Saturday, March 14 2009, 9:26AM
“Last week I took a flight fom Lulsgate to Geona on a business trip,the return air fare was 1/4 of the train fare from Bristol Parkway to Reading return,I look forward to the day a carrier start internal UK flights.”