Aer Lingus has increased its baggage charges for the third time since they were introduced less than a year ago.
The latest increase means an average family will have to pay up to €100 for the privilege of checking in their baggage for a return trip to continental Europe.
The airline followed the example of Ryanair by introducing baggage charges last January, when it started charging €4 per bag per flight where the luggage was booked online.
In March, this charge was increased to €5, then it was increased to €6 in October and yesterday it rose to €9 - a 50 per cent increase.
For baggage that is registered in the airport, the charge first introduced last January was €8 per bag per flight. This then rose to €9 and, yesterday, to €12, a 33 per cent rise. Transatlantic flight baggage charges are not affected by the latest hike.
The increase was condemned by the Consumers Association of Ireland, whose chairman Michael Kilcoyne said airlines should be forced to display total prices that include all charges.
"If you buy a sliced pan, you don't pay one bit for the loaf and another for the wrapping, and then pay more for the girl to check it through for you. So why do this for airline tickets?"
Mr Kilcoyne said the real fault lay with inaction by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin who, he claimed, was supposed to be interested in consumer rights but had "no more interest in the area than the man in the moon".
Aer Lingus defended the increase in a statement, saying it reflected "general pricing across the industry".
"Since the introduction of baggage fees, we are finding that on our short-haul flights fewer and fewer passengers are travelling with checked in baggage. This, combined with self service check-in, is resulting in quicker turnaround times at airports. We want to encourage our passengers to travel with less baggage so that the travelling experience can become even quicker and more efficient."
The airline issued a press release yesterday hailing its 10 millionth passenger, but did not reveal the increase until it received a specific query.
The price increase coincided with the publication of a European report which finds that Irish airlines are the most complained about in the EU, accounting for a quarter of all complaints. Complaints about Irish airlines to the European Consumer Centre network rose almost 200 per cent last year. In addition, Irish air passengers made more complaints than any other nationality in the EU, according to the report.
The EU Commission welcomed the report and said a standard EU air passenger complaint form would be made available to the public in early 2008.
