Airport commercial properties in the UK are attracting a lot of negative press at the moment, whether it is due to grounded flights as a result of adverse weather conditions or interminable queues within the terminal buildings. However, it appears that budget airlines are unwilling to make their situation any easier, with one today announcing its decision to introduce a further charge for passengers.
Wizz Air is to become the first airliner to charge passengers for bringing hand luggage on board their fleet of aircraft, with travel industry experts claiming that others may follow suit should the scheme prove successful. Customers bringing anything larger than is able to fit underneath the seat on board the aircraft will be forced to pay £8 in order to use the overhead lockers when travelling between commercial property airports.
The trial will be conducted next month for passengers flying between Luton commercial property airport and Katowice in Poland. One benefit of the policy is that customers paying the additional fee to bring a small wheeled trolley case, or similar hand luggage, will be allowed to board the plane second only to priority boarding passengers in order to ensure there is enough space in the overhead lockers for their now taxed baggage.
Should the dimensions of a piece of carry-on luggage exceed 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, or weigh more than 10 kilograms, it will be considered too large to fit underneath the seat in front and its owner will be required to pay the charge before leaving the departure commercial property airport to board the plane.
Travelsupermarket’s travel industry commentator, Bob Atkinson, does not believe that the baggage allowance is sufficient for passengers to be getting a fair deal from the airline.
He says; “If you are trying to avoid paying to check in bags by using hand luggage this is bad news. It forces people to travel with next to nothing if they don’t want to pay extra.
“Customers are unlikely to be happy at having to pay for something that they have previously taken for granted.
“I would be horrified if I saw other airlines following this idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see other budget carriers looking at this – it’s all about revenue.”
Yet remaining largely unconsidered in the debate is the airport commercial properties themselves and the effect changes of this sort could have upon them. Not only are the airlines running the risk of discouraging holidaymakers from travelling abroad, but they are also leaving questions unanswered when it comes to items purchased within the airport commercial property itself.
In the wake of 9/11, there was much confusion as to whether passengers were allowed to take duty free items such as perfume, alcoholic beverages and even bottled water on board an aircraft from the commercial property terminal building due to heightened security and new legislation on bringing liquids on board an aeroplane.
The worry is this decision by Wizz Air could have similar ramifications and lose the commercial property airports revenue, as passengers will be discouraged from purchasing duty free items if they believe they will have to pay extra to take them on board the aircraft.
WIzz Air, in a statement announcing the proposed changes, claimed that the trial will “reduce boarding hassle and improve on-time performance, and result in a better overall travel experience.”
Only time will tell if they are correct.
Do you believe passengers will be willing to pay extra to take hand luggage on board? Or do you think that this is simply a less desirable way of reducing queuing at airport commercial properties, by lessening the number of passengers in them?
