Ryanair baggage charges increase the closer you get to departure date

RYANAIR has introduced new baggage charges which could mean paying up to €120 for one checked bag on a return flight.

As the row over its new seat allocation policy refuses to die, the budget airline has confirmed it is adjusting baggage prices in a similar way to flight prices: more popular flights can mean more expensive bags.

Baggage fees paid at the airport or via the call centre can cost between €25-€50 for a 15kg bag and €10 extra for a 20kg bag. This means a passenger could pay €60 one way for luggage alone. The maximum fee is €120 under the new charges. Previously, baggage fees were at a fixed rate based on the weight and date of travel.

Now angry Ryanair customers are being charged increased amounts the closer it gets to their departure date. One passenger who flew from Dublin to Pisa last month told the Irish Mail on Sunday how the price of bringing one suitcase jumped from €10 to €40 in just two weeks.

‘I always travel with hand baggage but I wanted to bring back some gifts with me so I looked at checking a bag in after I’d already bought my ticket,’ he said. ‘When I made the original booking, the cost was €10 for a 15kg bag. Two weeks from the departure date, this had jumped to €40 one way! The price meant I didn’t bother.’

‘It cost €10... then jumped to €40 one way’

Another customer said: ‘On a flight to Rome, they were looking for €25 for a checked bag, but that price went up by €10 if I travelled the next day.’

‘Ryanair baggage charges go up as you get closer to your departure date. This is a new thing that I did not know,’ another intending passenger said.

‘At time of booking a 20kg bag cost €22 each way, three weeks ago it cost €33 each way and today it’s €53 each way!’

Ryanair confirmed to the MoS that it had introduced ‘dynamic bag pricing’ in April of this year.

The spokesman said the charges mean Ryanair’s baggage fees increase as a departure date nears. ‘Customers are clearly advised that bags bought at the time of the original booking are cheaper than when added to a booking,’ he said.

The independent consumer advice site Money Guide Ireland has also noted the airline’s change in baggage policy.

‘It looks like Ryanair have adjusted the way they calculate checked baggage charges sometime in the last few months,’ the website reads.

‘It seems that Ryanair are also charging “peak” baggage fees on popular weekend flights that are outside the “peak periods”.

‘For example, we found that adding a 20kg bag would cost €15 on a Wednesday flight within Ireland/ UK in September, but it would be €25 on the following Saturday.

‘Ryanair seem to be also doing some kind of dynamic baggage pricing – with baggage prices increasing in a similar way to seat prices as flights get fuller. So if you leave it later to book your bag – you might find the price has gone up!’

This weekend a return flight from Dublin to Rome would cost €90 for a checked bag, plus €32 for a priority seat. Add in a €13.32 ‘payment fee’ on the booking and that’s €135.32 before the price of the actual ticket.

However, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary this week told his customers to ‘stop whingeing’ about the new costs, and he denied accusations that the airline deliberately separated families who choose not to pay for reserved seating.

Passengers have also reported disruption on flights as people look to swap seats in order to sit beside their family or friends.

‘I was asked to move twice by people on two recent Ryanair flights,’ said one customer. ‘I did once because I was travelling alone but the second time, I was with my children and couldn’t move. The whole thing is a hassle.’

The Ryanair spokesman added: ‘Bags are dynamically priced. Ryanair offers a banded range of bag fees (from €10 to €40 for a 15kg bag booked online) which vary based on the route and travel dates selected.

‘All Ryanair fees are displayed in full at each stage of the booking process and customers are clearly advised that bags bought at the time of the original booking are cheaper than when added to a booking.

‘Please see our home page and baggage section, which confirms customers are advised of our policy,’ he said.