Hand luggage charges: seven airlines sued by European consumer associations

European consumer associations are back at it. Two months ago, some forty of them called on Brussels to "stay on the side of consumers" in the conflict between certain European Union countries and low-cost airlines, accused of abusive commercial practices. Today, 16 member organizations of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), including UFC-Que Choisir and CLCV on the French side, are referring the matter to the European Commission and the network of consumer protection authorities (CPC), including the French DGCCRF.

The issue is the hand luggage charging policy of seven airlines: Easyjet, Norwegian, Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea, Vueling, and Wizzair. After numerous consumer complaints on this issue, the associations examined the websites of several airlines and the analysis revealed that these seven apply fees for reasonably sized hand luggage: €23 per flight with Volotea, €36 for Ryanair, and nearly €43 for Easyjet.

This commercial practice is all the more contentious given that the dimensions of "small" or "large" baggage accepted vary from one airline to another. And if these dimensions are not respected, travelers can be charged fees of up to €280.

BEUC is therefore relying on a decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which ruled in 2014 that cabin baggage was a "necessary element of passenger transport" and should therefore not be subject to additional charges, provided that it complies with reasonable dimensions. The European Consumer Organisation is calling on Brussels and the CPC authorities to intervene so that an investigation is carried out at Community level and that the airlines' commercial practices in this area are sanctioned.

At the end of November, Spain had already imposed a €179 million fine on five low-cost airlines (Ryanair, Vueling, Easyjet, Volotea, and Norwegian), sanctioned for charging passengers for hand luggage and for making travelers accompanying dependents pay for seat selection. These fines were denounced by IATA, an organization bringing together more than 330 airlines, as well as by Ryanair: the Irish group, which alone was fined €107 million, decided to contest these fines, which it deemed "illegal," before the European Court of Justice.

"The planes are full, we can't carry an unlimited amount of hand luggage," insisted Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, who has since continued to attack Spanish Consumer Affairs Minister Pablo Bustinduy, calling him a "crazy communist" and a "naive" elected official.