Ah. The sweet smell of monetising cabin space. I haven’t smelt it since the pandemic started. But easyJet is to take advantage of the town, with changes to its cabin baggage policy
The airline is moving down the line of “the seat customer books will determine what they can bring onboard”. It becomes live from flights from the 10th February 2021.
The new policy means that all customers can take a small under-seat cabin bag (max 45x36x20cm) onboard free of charge which must fit under the seat in front.
Customers who have booked an Up front or Extra legroom seat will be able to bring onboard an additional large cabin bag (max 56x45x25cm), which will travel in the overhead locker. easyJet Plus cardholders and FLEXI fare customers will also continue to have an additional large cabin bag included in their booking, subject to space onboard.
No weight limit is applied to this.
According to the airline
“The limited overhead locker space on aircraft has meant that customers can’t always be certain they will have their cabin bag onboard with them and so for those who want certainty, booking an Up front or Extra legroom seat will provide this. The new policy will also reduce queue times during boarding and other associated delays which occur due to putting excess cabin bags in the hold and so the move will lead to improved punctuality for all customers. “
Depending on the aircraft, There are between 42 and 63 Up front and Extra legroom seats available to book onboard These range in price starting from £7.99.
The policy
- The new policy will be applied on all flights on and after 10 February 2021.
- Customers who are travelling from 10 February and have already booked an Up front or Extra legroom seat do not need to make any changes to their booking and can bring a large cabin bag.
- Customers who have already made bookings for travel from 10 February and have not booked an Up front or Extra legroom seat will be able to bring on board a small under seat cabin bag. In addition to this we will be offering them easyJet’s Hands Free product free of charge should they wish to still bring a large overhead cabin bag in addition to their small under seat cabin bag. Hands Free enables customers to check their large overhead cabin bag into the hold at bag drop. They can also amend their booking to purchase an Up front or Extra legroom seat should they wish to bring a large cabin bag into the cabin.
- For all bookings made from today onwards for travel from 10 February 2021 the new policy will apply.
Certain items will be carried free in the cabin such as medical equipment, baby changing bag onboard travel cot, pushchair, double pushchair, buggy, car seat, collapsible or non-collapsible pram, booster seat and/or baby back carrier.
If you need to check bags on too, that’s an option the airline will happily charge for too.
In Quotes
Robert Carey, Chief Commercial & Customer Officer for easyJet said:
“Punctuality is important to our customers and we know that if they have their bags placed into the hold at the gate due to the limited space onboard this can cause flight delays, and it can be frustrating for them too. Our new policy will improve boarding and punctuality for everyone, as well as give our customers certainty of what they will have with them onboard.
“Customers with existing bookings from 10 February will be offered Hands Free for free, allowing them to travel with their cabin bag at no extra cost.
“For families, we’ll continue to provide a number of options to allow them to bring additional items free of charge, helping keep travel easy and affordable for families when they fly with us.”
It took them long enough to grab that low-hanging fruit.
With WizzAir and Ryanair making the move (to name a couple of European carriers) taking the move, it’s honestly unsurprising that easyJet has taken the same move to make an extra coin improve turnaround times.
And with the state of the airline’s finance- it’s hardly surprising that they grabbed this low hanging fruit.
Whilst not the friendliest passenger experience move, it will make passengers consider if they need to take certain items, or if it’s easier to pay up for a seat with a larger hand baggage allowance or to check the bag in.
It’s certainly something to think about if you’re thinking of flying the airline – but as usual – you must check what your low-cost carrier is charging for.
Paying £8 for a seat for which you can carry your trolly bag may be worth it…. and its a small amount when you put in a COVID-19 test too.
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