We’ve all been there: we think we’ve nabbed a great deal on a flight, only to end up incurring added costs at every stage. A tenner to pick your seat, £25 for just a cabin bag – the pounds quickly add up. With airfares already up 3% this year (not including any extras like baggage), it’s not as if we’ve got money to throw away. That aside, being hit with a load of extra charges isn’t the nicest way to kickstart your trip.
The good news? Travel experts at Tradingpedia have crunched the data and found the biggest culprits when it comes to imposing ‘hidden costs’. Their goal was to figure out if budget airlines’ low fares are really worth it, or whether you end up splashing out more by the time you’ve got yourself (and your bags) onboard.
The most commonly incurred surcharge when flying is an excess baggage fee. Whereas most of us consider a cabin bag (one of those small suitcases you specially search for online) as ‘hand baggage’, lots of budget airlines have caveats saying you can only take one small bag for free – a handbag that fits under the seat in front. The airline with the highest charge for carry-on baggage is Vueling, where the average price of adding an overhead cabin case was £29.38.
Then there are the seat selection charges, which let’s be honest, never quite make sense to us. (Sure, if we want extra legroom, fair enough – but why pay just to select any old space?) Ryanair has the lowest charges: from £4.50 to £15.50, depending on where you wish to be seated, while the fee on Jet2 flights is between £10.50 and £15.50. The priciest seat selection average fees came from Norwegian and Wizz Air, which charge £27.45 and £27.77 respectively.
There is one really bizarre extra cost the report found. Until a few years ago, many airlines charged some type of administration fee when booking a flight, but this is now almost non-existent, with fees being charged only for flight reservations made at the airport. That’s apart from Wizz Air, which still charges between £6.80 and £11.06 when you check in online. Eeeek.
Another takeaway? Never miss your online check-in window. Ryanair will charge a £55 fee if you turn up without having checked in and Wizz Air £34.02. That’s an expensive oversight.
So what’s the overall ranking when it comes to hidden airline costs? Well, the company where you’d incur the highest average additional charge is Wizz Air, with Tradingpedia estimating around £207.93 in charges (a whopping price tag, but one which would only be if you incurred all extra fees simultaneously). Next up was Ryanair, with a figure of £198.58.
The airline with the fewest hidden fees? British Airways, where only checked bags and seat selection come with a possible price tag. So even if their fares are a little more expensive, it might be worth it – you could avoid dipping into your holiday money later.
