No-frills carrier Ryanair is increasing its baggage fees by £5 online and £60 at the airport during peak travel periods, as well as upping its boarding card reissue penalty by £20.
The increased baggage fee of £25 will be charged during June, July, August, September and Christmas 2012, and will apply to all bookings made from December 15.
For bags flown in the “low season”, between October and May, the current fee of £15 will continue to apply to online bookings.
However, fees for passengers who want to check in a bag at the airport will increase by £25 during off-peak travel periods, from £35 to £60 per bag.
And for a bag checked in at the airport in peak season, the fee will increase by £60, from £40 to £100.
These fees are being increased further for heavier bags, and second bags – see panel below for details.
Ryanair claims the increased fees are a ploy to encourage passengers to travel without hold luggage, instead flying within Ryanair’s free of charge 10kg cabin bag allowance.
Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said: “Ryanair continues to incentivise passengers to travel light especially during peak periods by raising our online checked-in baggage fees. As always, baggage fees are avoidable.”
The airline is also increasing its fee for passengers who arrive at the airport without boarding passes. Currently each passenger has to pay £40 to get it printed, but from January 15 this will increase to £60.
According to Ryanair, 99.9 per cent print off their boarding pass before arriving at the airport.
Stephen McNamara said the increase is “a move to persuade the less than 10 passengers per day who fail to print or bring their boarding cards to their departure airport to do so.”