Hi, I think this is a really disingenuous article. The info about the 20kg weight limit isn't hidden=20 away on the website at all. It is clear that one=20 has that limit irrespective of the number of bags=20 - just like UA, BA, etc.. It is just that you pay=20 less on the initial fare for less bags, which seems fair to me. Rather, and forgive the cynic in me, he took the=20 hit specifically to write the article, knowing=20 full well the weight restrictions and that he would be overcharged,. Regards, Alastair > The counter agent at easyJet claimed I was 40=20 > kilograms (88 pounds) over. How could that be?=20 > I had checked the box. I had spent the extra=20 > money for the second bag for two people =97thus=20 > we were checking in two bags each =97 and each=20 > was 20 kilos or less in weight. I had been careful not to overpack. > But the airline still claimed I was 40 kilos=20 > over, and they were going to charge me. I=20 > wasn=92t happy, but there was nothing I could do.=20 > Was the charge $25? $50? Hardly. The excess bag=20 > charges for one 48 minute flight from the U.K.=20 > to Paris: a whopping $514.69! I was trapped.=20 > Had no choice but to pay. And two days later,=20 > on another easyJet flight, they charged me $585.62. > How did this happen? Turns out it=92s all in=20 > the fine print. Yes, for an additional charge I=20 > am allowed to check in a second bag on easyJet,=20 > but the airline does not increase the weight=20 > allowance no matter how many additional bags you check! > As a result, I had paid less than $200 for=20 > two people to fly on two separate easyJet=20 > flights with baggage that was well within the=20 > size and weight limits of any U.S. domestic or=20 > international carrier. And the bag charges? $1,100.31! > Now comes the absurd part: I went back and=20 > checked the advertised fares for the flights I=20 > was on. I could have easily stopped a total of=20 > 20 strangers at the airport and offered them a=20 > free trip to Paris or London =97 round trip =97 for=20 > what it cost two people to check in an additional one bag each! > In my entire flying and journalism experience=20 > of reporting airline ripoffs and draconian=20 > charges, easyJet is easy all right =97 it easily=20 > wins the most abusive overcharging award. > I did some checking to see what it would have=20 > cost me to courier 44 kilos to Paris, not from=20 > London, but from Los Angeles: $200.75 on DHL,=20 > and delivered to my hotel in Paris. > I also checked on how much my round trip fare=20 > (plus my companion's) would have been on Air=20 > France flying from Heathrow to Charles de=20 > Gaulle: $283 each, with two checked bags each=20 > allowed, or $566, substantially less than the=20 > $1,100 bag charges plus the easyJet airfare. > EasyJet is by no means the only carrier=20 > attempting to get away with skyway robbery.=20 > British Airways has recently instituted the one=20 > bag rule (plus excessive excess bag charges on=20 > the second bag) on their flights from Heathrow=20 > just about everywhere except the United State. > And low cost carrier Ryanair is even worse.=20 > Their weight limit per passenger for checked=20 > bags isn't 20 kilos, It's just 15! But as in my=20 > case with easyJet, most people won't discover=20 > this until they're already at the airport, and=20 > it=92s too late to do anything except pay. > On the Ryanair Web site (www.ryanair.com),=20 > much like easyJet, you can quickly book=20 > inexpensive flights. For example, with only two=20 > days notice, I was able to find a flight from=20 > London to Venice for only 29 pounds (58=20 > dollars) one way and 19.99 pounds (about $40)=20 > on the return. But nowhere on the site's main=20 > page, or even on the booking page where I had=20 > to give my credit card to confirm the=20 > reservation and buy the tickets, was there a=20 > disclosure about the airline's equally=20 > outrageous baggage policies. But after=20 > searching, I found it on another "terms and=20 > conditions" link, and you've got to see it to believe it. And I quote: > > "A Baggage Fee is charged for the carriage=20 > of each item of Checked Baggage. The Baggage=20 > Fee may be prepaid at the current discounted=20 > rate of =806.00/=A35.00 per item of baggage/per one=20 > way flight when making your reservation. If the=20 > Baggage Fee is paid after you have made your=20 > booking either at the airport, or through a=20 > Ryanair call centre, at the full rate per item=20 > of baggage/per one way flight is charged. > Passenger may purchase up to 5 items of=20 > baggage per person. Please Note: That the total=20 > Checked Baggage Allowance per person is 15kg=20 > irrespective of the number of items of baggage=20 > purchased per person. There is no baggage allowance for infants. > Any passenger checking in baggage exceeding=20 > the 15kg checked baggage allowance per person=20 > will be charged an excess baggage fee currently=20 > at a rate of =A35.50/=808 per kilo (or local currency equivalent). > Passengers may not use the unused checked=20 > baggage allowance of other passengers. No=20 > pooling/sharing of the checked baggage=20 > allowance is permitted, even within a party=20 > travelling on the same Confirmation Number. > One item of hand baggage per person,=20 > weighing no more than 10kg and with dimensions=20 > of less than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, may be carried=20 > into the aircraft cabin (restrictions apply from certain countries) " > Ouch! The fine print says it all. Check=20 > anything more than 15 kilograms (a little over=20 > 33 pounds) and mortgage your house. I suspect=20 > that pretty soon they'll start weighing, YOU. > I emailed Sir Stelios Haji-Ioanou, the=20 > Greek-Cypriot born British entrepeneur who=20 > founded easyJet, and a man who I=92ve met on=20 > numerous occasions at various travel industry=20 > conferences (where we=92ve both been speakers)=20 > and asked him to explain these stratospheric charges. > His response, in an email back to me: > =93Are you saying you believe our people got=20 > the weights wrong, or you are surprised at the=20 > per kilo rate of easyJet and the dollar sterling exchange rate? > >I believe our rates are competitive for European economy short haul..." > >Competitive? If this is being competitive, OK, I=20 >give up. EasyJet might win the short haul air=20 >fare race in Europe, but based on these charges,=20 >if we are responsible (and hopefully fiscally=20 >sane) travelers, they deserve to lose the marathon. > >The moral to this story is simple: If you're a=20 >backpacker owning nothing more than T-shirts and=20 >flip flops =97 and they=92d better not be heavy flip=20 >flops =97 or you're a drifter with no bags, then=20 >easyJet, Ryanair and on some flights, British=20 >Air are the airlines for you. But if you're a=20 >real traveler, even with modest check-in bags,=20 >be prepared for serious, and in my experience=20 >heart attack-inducing sticker shock. > Bottom line: I am now no longer flying=20 > easyJet, or Ryanair. easyJet got away with=20 > gouging me =AD that=92s the only way I can put it=20 > =97 for more than $1,100. But now, I am warning=20 > everyone else. This isn't just bad passenger=20 > service. This is intentional, greedy and mean=20 > spirited. And in my book, this constitutes=20 > nothing less than a declaration of war against=20 > all of us. It's time to fight back. I would=20 > suggest you avoid these airlines until they=20 > change these policies, but if you choose to fly=20 > them, remember, you've been warned. > Peter Greenberg is TODAY's travel editor. His=20 > column appears weekly on TODAYshow.com. Visit=20 > his Web site at PeterGreenberg.com. > > > ><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>= >>> > >If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: >"listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body=20 >of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE". *************************************** Dr. Alastair T. Gardiner Level 2 Glasgow Biomedical Research Centre Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences University of Glasgow 126 University Place Glasgow G12 8TA Scotland Tel. (+44) 141 330 8119 (office) or 6448 (lab) Fax. (+44) 141 330 3779 E-mail. atg3v@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx http://www.gla.ac.uk/ibls/BMB/rjc/agardiner.html ************************************** Have a look at my airliner photography at http://airliners.net/search/photo.search?emailsearch=3Datg3v@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".