Latest news with #baggagePolicy
Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Airport staff paid bonuses to catch out passengers with oversized bags
Airport staff are being handed cash incentives to catch out easyJet passengers who have oversized luggage. Staff at Swissport, an aviation company which provides services at 296 airports, including running passenger gates, are 'eligible to receive £1.20 (£1 after tax) for every gate bag taken', according to a leaked company email. Dubbed 'the easyJet gate bag revenue incentive', the scheme was billed as aiming to 'reward agents doing the right thing' and would result in 'payments made directly to employees'. The email was sent to Swissport employees at airports in Belfast, Birmingham, Glasgow, Jersey, Liverpool and Newcastle in November 2023 by Dean Martin, a company manager based in Glasgow. The policy is understood to still be in force. EasyJet's baggage policy allows passengers to take a small under-seat cabin bag onto flights for 'free', but charges between £5.99 and £32.99 for larger luggage which requires the use of overhead lockers. Travellers are often required to place their luggage in a metal frame or box that is fitted to the dimensions of under-seat and overhead locker baggage allowances. Should the bags not fit, passengers can be charged £48. Policy 'puts staff in danger' A source, who wished to remain anonymous, previously told the Jersey Evening Post that the policy had been deeply unpopular with Swissport staff because they would get into rows with passengers at boarding gates. 'You get a family going on holiday with a couple of kids, and when they get to the gate, you're taking another £80 off them for two bags. A lot of passengers get stroppy about it, and it's the staff who are getting the flak for that,' the source said. A Swissport passenger service manager, speaking on condition of anonymity, also told The Sunday Times: 'Confronting people with excess baggage is like taking on fare dodgers. 'You risk abuse or worse – imagine stopping a group of lads on a stag weekend and telling them: 'I'm going to have to charge you more than you paid for your tickets to check those bags into the hold'.' Ground handlers working for DHL Supply Chain, a third-party firm, at Gatwick, Bristol and Manchester airports also reportedly have a remuneration package for identifying non-compliant easyJet bags. EasyJet, which recorded an annual revenue of more than £9 billion in 2024, has oversight of incentives available to employees at third-party companies. Bag rules 'well understood' A spokesman for the airline said: 'EasyJet is focused on ensuring our ground handling partners apply our policies correctly and consistently in fairness to all our customers. 'Our bag policies and options are well understood, and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel and on their boarding pass, which means a very small proportion of customers who don't comply will be charged at the airport.' The EU recently proposed introducing new standardised rules for airlines, which would allow passengers to bring one personal item, such as a handbag or a backpack, and one item of cabin baggage weighing less than 7kg on board 'free' of charge. The shake-up, which was put forward last month, would apply to any flight taking off or landing in the EU but requires the approval of 55 per cent of member nations before it can come into force.
National Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
This airlines is getting rid of free checked bags
Article content It's the last day to book a flight on Southwest Airlines without being hit with a fee to check bags after the airline abandoned a decades-long luggage policy that executives had described last fall as key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals. Article content The airline announced the change in March, saying at the time that the the new policy would start with flights booked on Wednesday. Article content Article content Southwest said Tuesday that it will be charging US$35 for a first checked bag and US$45 for a second checked bag. Weight and size limits will apply for bags. Article content Article content Southwest had built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free. Under its new policy, people who haven't either reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program, bought a business class ticket or hold the airline's credit card will have to pay for checked bags. Article content Southwest will continue to offer two free checked bags to Rapid Rewards A-List preferred members and customers traveling on Business Select fares, and one free checked bag to A-List members and other select customers. Passengers with Rapid Rewards credit cards will receive a credit for one checked bag. Article content People who don't qualify for those categories will get charged to check bags. The airline said in March that it also would roll out a new, basic fare on its lowest priced tickets when the change takes effect. Article content Article content The airline estimated in September that charging bag fees would bring in about $1.5 billion a year but cost the airline $1.8 billion in lost business from customers who chose to fly Southwest because of its generous baggage allowance. Article content Article content Another policy that will take effect on Wednesday is Southwest requiring passengers to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium-ion battery fires. Article content These aren't the only changes at Southwest. The Dallas airline previously announced that it was leaving behind another Southwest tradition, the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years. Southwest expects to begin operating flights with passengers in assigned seats next year. Article content The airline also said last year that it would charge customers extra for more legroom and offer red-eye flights. Article content Southwest has struggled recently and is under pressure from activist investors to boost profits and revenue. The airline reached a truce in October with hedge fund Elliott Investment Management to avoid a proxy fight, but Elliott won several seats on the company's board. Article content The airline announced in February that it was eliminating 1,750 jobs, or 15% of its corporate workforce, in the first major layoffs in the company's 53-year history. Article content
