"Abusive Overcharging in Europe"

[tuapekastar]

I checked the Easyjet website and this is the wording on the site for the option to add a bag



it also says next to this


The highlighting I have used is the same as the website. I don't see that there is anything misleading to be fair to EZ. I think that it clearly states that the GBP5 extra does not entitle the passenger to any additional allowance in weight.

Dave

Thanks for posting the actual wording Dave, and yes, it would be pretty hard to misinterpret that. Had I checked it myself before posting I rather think my cynicism would then have been directed at the story's author rather than EZ.

PS. The actual website wording in Dave's post (a 'quote' itself) would not automatically 're-quote' for this post!

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Thanks for posting the actual wording Dave, and yes, it would be pretty hard to misinterpret that. Had I checked it myself before posting I rather think my cynicism would then have been directed at the story's author rather than EZ.

PS. The actual website wording in Dave's post (a 'quote' itself) would not automatically 're-quote' for this post!

There are, IMHO, a number of possible stories that could have been written

- need to be careful reading rules
- whether the charges are reasonable

But a tirade against the airline for his own laziness is not a good story.

 

[acampbel]

A couple of points .....

The current wording on the Easyjet website is just that - there is no guarantee that it has not been changed as a result of the story.

I have had a close call with RyanAir last year on a Stansted-Perpignon flight. I was only made aware of their baggage policy (1 bag each, 15kg max, no pooling) because I was trying to contact them regarding infant car-seats and instead came across many anti-Ryanair rants when googling unsuccessfully for an email address. Yes - I'm sure that if I searched the RyanAir site it would have been somewhere in the T&C's, but it was not made obvious when booking and in my opinion (and I don't want anyone elses) it should have been.

And how does the "no-pooling" rule pass the new fairness test? It is hardly reasonable for me to expect master6 and missy4 to carry a suitcase, so we tend to travel with one case for mum & dad and one case for the kids (which dad then carries). Because of the RyanAir "rules", I had to purchase a couple of flimsy bags and spend an hour re-packing our stuff before heading to the airport. Now I have no problem with limitations on the weight of individual bags (as all airlines do), but not allowing families to pool luggage when they have all paid the same fare is just pure nonsense.

I know that margins are tight but it is no excuse for laying traps for customers and the gouging them when they fall in. If it can nearly happen to a seasoned traveller like myself, then what chance does an infrequent traveller have - especially when their other experiences were with "real" airlines which have reasonable baggage policies.


Anyway - at least stories like these make people check things out more thoroughly before making their choice ... as this journalist should have.



Cheers,

Andrew

 

[JohnK]

Im not sure what his main issue is.

He was allowed 20Kg allowance with 1 bag maximum. By paying GBP5 extra he was allowed 20Kg with a 2 bag maximum. If he turned up with 60Kg, then he would be 40Kg over the allowance.

Not that it matters now but the article does mention that there was 2 people travelling, the writer and one of his staff, and he ticked the box to be allowed to check 2 bags.

The article also mentions the counter agent at EasyJet claimed he was 40kgs over but the writer mentions there was 4 bags to checkin, 2 each, and they were very careful when packing to keep each bag at 20kgs or less in weight yet the airline still claimed he was 40kgs over.

I can understand not reading the fine print it has happened to all of us at one time or another. But if each of the 4 bags was 20kgs or less and he was still charged for being 40kgs over then someone is lying.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

The article also mentions the counter agent at EasyJet claimed he was 40kgs over but the writer mentions there was 4 bags to checkin, 2 each, and they were very careful when packing to keep each bag at 20kgs or less in weight yet the airline still claimed he was 40kgs over.

I can understand not reading the fine print it has happened to all of us at one time or another. But if each of the 4 bags was 20kgs or less and he was still charged for being 40kgs over then someone is lying.

4 bags at 20kgs each equals 80kgs total.
Allowance 20kgs per person for 2 people equals 40kgs.
Excess is 40kgs?

 

[JohnK]

4 bags at 20kgs each equals 80kgs total.
Allowance 20kgs per person for 2 people equals 40kgs.
Excess is 40kgs?

Read the stupid article and my post before posting. Don''t make it out to sound like I am stupid. My maths is just as good as yours if not better.

It says 20kgs or less per bag. It means that some bags were possibly less than 20kgs. It doesn't say that any bag was over 20kgs. So when doing mathematics 80kgs for 4 bags at 20kgs or less a bag sounds excessive. To me 40kgs sounds like a very convenient number for the airline.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Read the stupid article and my post before posting. Don''t make it out to sound like I am stupid. My maths is just as good as yours if not better.

It says 20kgs or less per bag. It means that some bags were possibly less than 20kgs. It doesn't say that any bag was over 20kgs. So when doing mathematics 80kgs for 4 bags at 20kgs or less a bag sounds excessive. To me 40kgs sounds like a very convenient number for the airline.

I did read the article. I was trying to understand your point (hence the question mark). It also refers to the cost of couriering 44kgs. If that is spread only over 2 bags (which it must from the info given) then at least one bag is in fact more than 20kgs.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

It is quite possible that you are right, that some numbers are wrong. It would hardly be the first article to have wrong numbers.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Another possibility is the author weighed bags at home and the scales used at check in are not calibrated identically to the scales at home (note this doesn't necessarily imply the airline's scales are dodgy, it could just be not as generously underweighing as the scales at home).

I know I've seen many check in counters displaying a weight even before putting any bag on.

 

[oz_mark]

I know I've seen many check in counters displaying a weight even before putting any bag on.

On the other hand I had a bag weigh in at 3kg once. Not bad considering it robably weighs more than that empty I am not really sure howaccurate the scales at airports are

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

In some countries they are supposed to be tested and recalibrated every year (under consumer protection laws).

 

[oz_mark]

I would have thought that but I have got my doubts about them.

 

[Dave Noble]

Not that it matters now but the article does mention that there was 2 people travelling, the writer and one of his staff, and he ticked the box to be allowed to check 2 bags.

The article also mentions the counter agent at EasyJet claimed he was 40kgs over but the writer mentions there was 4 bags to checkin, 2 each, and they were very careful when packing to keep each bag at 20kgs or less in weight yet the airline still claimed he was 40kgs over.

I can understand not reading the fine print it has happened to all of us at one time or another. But if each of the 4 bags was 20kgs or less and he was still charged for being 40kgs over then someone is lying.

If 2 people travel on Easyjet , the allowance is 1 bag of max 20kg each. By paying the GBP5 each, the allowance was 2 bags with a 20Kg TOTAL max weight ( the max weight allowance is NOT increased and is very clearly stated twice on the website . There was no fine print, it even higlights the text stating "The total weight allowance for all pieces of checked-in hold baggage is 20 Kg. ") . He also states that he ensured that the "bags weighed 20Kg or less" . If they did all weigh 20Kgs

2 * 20kg = 40Kg

4 bags, each weighing 20Kg : 4 * 20kg = 80Kg

The excess amount of luggage is therefore 40Kg and he was quite correctly charged for 40Kg. His claim that it was in the small print is risible and completely unfair since they clearly state the limits

Dave

 

[JohnK]

He also states that he ensured that the "bags weighed 20Kg or less" .

I am not disputing simple arithmetic or the being charged for being over your allowance.

My concern is that some numbers just do not add up especially if believing his claim that each bag was 20kgs or less. I emphasise on less because I simply do not believe, no matter how hard you try, that you can have 4 bags, packed manually, weighing exactly the same. Someone is lying....