With the arrival of the first warm weather it’s already time to think about summer holidays. And if you haven’t already done so, you will surely be tangled up in a thousand comparison sites trying to find the most attractive offer. Even this year Altroconsumo monitored the increases relating to ‘low cost’ flights‘. The topic is not of little importance because lack clarity and transparencyfrom the beginning, of how much you will pay for a plane ticket does not allow travelers to make comparisons in a simple way and, therefore, to look for the most convenient solution. What is certain is that the initial price, the one by which you are attracted, it is much less than what you will pay actually later, adding other extra services, often necessary and not so accessories.
The consumer organization has, therefore, selected six return flights for each company considered when possible for a total of 58 flights (a return trip by Volotea was excluded from the analysis because it was operated by another company that applied conditions other than low cost ones). The selected flights included departure from Milan and Rome for national and European tourist and holiday destinations (Athens, Lisbon, Prague, Palermo, Lampedusa etc.). The low cost airlines evaluated were: easyJet, Ryanair, Volotea, Vueling And Wizz Air. The measurements were made at May 2024. For each route, a return flight was searched for at the cheapest possible price between June 21st and July 7th 2024. For each flight, the purchase process was followed until payment to detect the costs covered by the investigation, without then proceeding with the purchase of the ticket. The first result is that, on average, the prices of extra costs are a little higher than a year ago.
How much ticket prices increase
Altroconsumo writes: “We simulated the case of a person going on holiday and which – in addition to the small bag included in the price – you want to take with you a hand baggage type trolley and a hold baggage; moreover, as often happens, he wants choose the place, so you can travel next to the person you are going on holiday with. In this table we indicate the sum of the extra costs that had the least and greatest impact on the ticket price. In the last line “Incidence” you will find how much these costs are worth compared to the initial price: if the initial price is 10 euros, for example, and the extra cost is 2, the incidence of the extra cost is 20%. Practically, the percentage indicates how much the price has increased of the ticket, once the three items for the extra services have been added.
The costs of additional services can therefore be equal to almost four times the initial price of the ticket, as in worst case of Wizz Air. In this case the initial price of Rome-Budapest flight one way was of 24.99 eurosthe final one of 115.69 euros: the spending increased by 363%, as we anticipated. Also for easyJet and Vuelingin our tests, the extra costs come to account over 300% of the initially proposed cost: more than triple. Going into specifics, for example easyJetwe went in the worst case scenario from an initial price to a flight Milan-Prague Of 22.99 euros at a total price of 92.71 euros, 303% more. For Vueling we passed by Rome-London from 22.99 euros to 96.99 euros: spending increased by 322%. Also for Ryanair the maximum costs of additional services are very significant: they are worth more than three times the initial price. We therefore passed through a Palermo-Milan flightfrom an initial price of 14.99 euros at a final price, including the three added items, equal to 54.33 euros, spending increased by 262%. The maximum impact of extra costs is more limited Volotea, however equal to almost three times the cost of the ticket initially proposed. For a flight Pantelleria-Milan we passed by 51.39 euros at a final price of 145.39 eurosThe 183% more”.
Altroconsumo continues: “The initial cost of airline tickets does not include other items (besides hand luggage, hold baggage and seat selection); for example the check-in at the airportthe amounts to shell out to have a refund if you can no longer leavefor the flight modification or the change of name. And also the penalties for oversized hand luggage (i.e. larger and heavier than what the company allows) are to be considered among the most insidious and high extra costs. Every company applies different rates for each itemand in some cases fixed and in many others variable depending on the flight: therefore they are not foreseeable expenses, unless you carry out the entire purchase process or unless you find yourself, for example, in the need of having to change the flight or the name of the passenger (in these cases, the conditions of different in fact, companies indicate a spending range, without giving the possibility of knowing with certainty how much one could spend). And all this only makes it increasingly difficult to compare prices between multiple companies. However, we summarize it in this table i minimum and maximum costs recorded for each individual item because they can give you a useful idea of the figures, in view of your travels.
The costs of each service change, even with the same company, depending on the flight we were saying and – in some cases – they change a lot, starting from more or less low figures but also reaching very high figures. Here is a summary of some of the most “noteworthy” extra costs, so as to avoid unpleasant surprises.
- easyJet: there penalty for hand baggage oversize is 58 euros (per flight), so if you fear going overboard, it’s better to purchase extra baggage directly, even after purchasing the flight, but before departure. Change the passenger’s name? It can cost almost 70 euros.
- Ryanair: very salty also in this case penalty for oversized baggage upon boarding, which is 70 euros; for the choice of the place more conveniently you can spend as much as 30 euros; also the cost of check-in at the airport is very high, 55 euros (in this case it is better to choose the “Plus” extra service package which includes choice of seat, 20 kg hold baggage and free check-in at the airport). There name change to whom the ticket is registered reaches 160 euros. Also be careful because Ryanair does not provide refunds for tickets that you are forced to cancel.
- Volotea: very expensive also in this case penalty for baggage outside measure upon boarding which is 65 euros. To add a hand luggage for hat boxes the price range is very variable, ranging from 18 euros to as much as 48 euros. As for Ryanair there are no refunds for canceled tickets if purchased with the standard fare.
- Vueling: the costs of Vueling’s extra services have the highest ranges of variation compared to other companies, to give just one example the cost for small hold luggage it ranges from 32 to 82 euros. Good free airport check-in and the absence of penalty in case of cancellation, even if the refund is made as a credit for the purchase of a new flight and not in euros.
- Wizz Air: also in this case, pay attention to the variability of costs, the choice of the place can reach as much as 28 euros and the cost for the small hold luggage at 57 euros, the large one at 92 euros”.
The extra services, says Altrocunsumo, “can be purchased individually, or within packages which are offered immediately after selecting the flight (as a first option: skip it if you then want to proceed with the selection of individual services without a package). Even the costs of the packages are not always the same, but vary depending on the flight. We tried to understand, however, if they really suit compared to purchasing individual extra services: in some cases they were actually cheaper, in others not. So, they can definitely save a little bit of time because you select everything together at the beginning, but It doesn’t mean that they guarantee savings also economical.
EasyJet
Immediately after choosing the flights, packages are offered with combinations of additional services, such as an extra hand baggage and hold baggage, with an indication of the total cost of the package per person per flight.
By evaluating the convenience of these packages on a one-way flight we verified that prices are aligned with those of the individual services purchasable, e in some cases you can even save. Purchase these packages, however, only if you are interested in all the services included, otherwise it is better to choose the standard rate and add only what you need.
However, the lack of transparency on the cost of the package for the return flight is criticisable, which is not visible immediately, but only in the screen following the selection of the package.
Ryanair
In this case we were able to evaluate the convenience of these packages both on the outward and return flights, because it is clearly indicated that it is the same cost for each flight.
The offer Regular with seat choice, priority boarding and 10kg hand luggage, in addition to small luggage, is slightly more expensive of the purchase of the seat and hand luggage, so if you only need these two services it is better to purchase them individually. If you also need the service of priority boardingit is not possible to purchase it individually: you will necessarily have to purchase a package that includes it.
Volotea
For Volotea we were not able to carry out an analysis of the convenience of the service packages because, unlike the other companies, in order to use them you also have to pay a fixed amount per year (in addition to a variable part that changes depending on the flight): therefore the package is more or less convenient based on how much you travel with this company.
Vueling
In this case you can evaluate the convenience of these packages both on the outward and return flights, because the price indicated refers to the additional cost on all tickets.
The Fly offer with the choice of seat and with 25 kg of checked baggage (adding 15 euros on top of the package price) it wasn’t convenient compared to purchasing individual services on none of the flights analysed. With the Fly Grande package you purchase a large hand baggage, a 25 kg hold baggage, the choice of seat, changes and cancellations and priority at the airport: it is cheaper than purchasing the same individual servicesbut you always need to evaluate whether everything is really necessary.
Wizzair
The costs of the packages are indicated in a rather clear and transparent way. The “All-in-one flexibility – Wizz Plus” and “Pack your bags and save – Wizz Go” offers they were convenient on all flights compared to purchasing the individual services included in these packages. The “Fast Travel – Wizz Smart” offer on some flights, however, it was more expensive compared to the sum of the costs of the individual services included”. – Source: Dire Agency www.dire.it –
