AER LINGUS is to increase charges for checking in bags on its short-haul flights by as much as 50 per cent from tomorrow.
The airline said that, from tomorrow, the cost of checking in bags at airports would increase from €12 to €18, while the fee for online baggage check-in would rise to €12 from €9.
Aer Lingus said it hoped the price rises would “encourage” more passengers to travel with less checked baggage and would assist in streamlining passenger movement through airports.
It also said that new baggage kiosks, which will allow customers to check in their bags automatically, would be piloted at Dublin airport over the coming months.
“We want to encourage more of our passengers to carry hand baggage and also to travel with less baggage so the travelling experience can become even quicker and more efficient for everyone,” said Enda Corneille, the airline’s director of corporate affairs.
He said the increase reflected “the general pricing structure across the industry” and that Aer Lingus would reduce its handling costs by reducing the number of checked bags it processes.
Brendan Ryan, Labour’s consumer affairs spokesman, condemned the increase and accused Aer Lingus of adopting a “monkey-see, monkey-do approach to their competitors”.
He said competition “should mean that prices are driven downward, but instead we see that whenever Ryanair put up their prices, Aer Lingus shamelessly follow suit, at the expense of their customers”.
Ryanair this week increased its baggage check-in charges from €9 to €10 and vowed to make further increases to encourage as many passengers as possible to bring carry-on luggage only. It also increased the cost of passengers checking in at the airport from €4 to €5. Checking in online, with carry-on bags only, remains free.
