Budget airlines continue to penalise passengers for paying by debit/credit card and checking-in luggage.

Which? Holiday has revealed the “true” cost of flying with a budget airline and says transaction and luggage-carrying fees can add up to 30% on to the advertised price in many cases.

Research from Which? looked into the costs (including luggage and paying with a credit or debit card) of flights for two people to four European destinations with four of the UK’s biggest budget airlines: Ryanair, bmibaby, easyJet and Jet2.

The independent consumer organisation found that Jet2 is one of the worst offenders, adding £92.16 to the costs of a return flight to Rome – although this did amount to just 10% of the flight price.

Ryanair, which claims to be the “world’s favourite airline” added £50 to the cost of all of its flights for checking in one hold bag and paying with a credit card, despite often offering seats at just £2 each way. 

Ryanair is, however, one of the few airlines to offer a fee-free transaction (excluding checked-luggage costs) for customers using a selected debit or credit card. It has recently announced that its partnership with Visa Electron for this service will end on 31 December and has already been superseded by a new relationship with MasterCard. 

Luton-based easyJet was one of the more favourable airlines in terms of costs and consistently had the lowest luggage and card charges – adding between £26 - £38 to each flight.

Rochelle Turner, Head of Research for Which? Holiday, said: “It’s hard to believe that any airline could justify increasing the ticket price by almost a third just for checking a bag into the hold and paying on a credit card – two services that not too long ago were included in the headline price.”

Ms Turner said these fees should not be ‘added extras’ as in the majority of cases they are unavoidable and simply “part and parcel of taking a flight.”

She added: “Airlines argue that they are being fairer to customers who don’t use these services. But, in reality, how many people don’t use a credit or debit card to pay for their flights, or travel without luggage?”

As previously reported by ICM, the UK Cards Association estimates the true cost of paying by debit/credit card should be as little as 30 pence, which makes the extra fees added by a multitude of airlines even more astonishing.

Despite an increase in costs, airlines such as Ryanair continue to record an increase in passenger traffic. In November, the budget airline had an increase in passengers of 15% to 4.69 million compared to November 2008.

Airlines will only begin to review their charges if passengers start to vent their frustration by removing their business. If airlines continue to see a rise in passenger numbers despite an increased rise in costs, then they are likely to continue charging such disproportionate fees and customers will have no choice but to pay them.

Do you think the convenience of being able to fly from a local airport and paying low airfares means that it’s acceptable to pay more for carrying luggage onboard? Or are you like the thousands of others who are fed up with seeing a headline-grabbing airfare only to be forced to pay extortionate fees? Share your views with ICM.