EasyJet warns free hand luggage will increase ticket prices

airlines They are still waiting for a dispute over hand luggage. Despite the fact that Consumption fined Ryanair, Vueling, EasyJet, Norwegian and Volotea 178.9 million euros. for an additional fee for hand luggage or for reserving adjacent seats to accompany dependentsThe companies have already said they won’t change the practice until a judge allows an administrative appeal they plan to file. But if the decision does not meet their interests, they insist that The supposed free carry-on baggage will eventually be paid for by travelers.

Yesterday, EasyJet Southern Europe CEO Javier Gandarainsisted that if this option were removed, he would certainly will increase the initial price of plane tickets.

Gandara, who is also president of the association of airlines operating in Spain (ALA), explained that if the sanction is successful and charging an additional amount for hand luggage or seat selection begins to be prohibited, “it will be introduced.” “an important distortion because it would be a measure that should only apply to Spaniards, but its implementation would be fraught with a number of difficulties.”

The manager reiterated that charging for carry-on luggage is legal and benefits consumers. “Many passengers benefit from a cheaper fare because they don’t need a range of services because they want them. “They shouldn’t force services on passengers who don’t want it.”Gandara criticized.

The manager made these observations during the presentation of EasyJet’s results for the 2024 financial year. The British low-cost airline received pre-tax profit was £610 million (€731 million) in the last financial year.which will run from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, representing an increase of 34% over the previous period.

During the financial year, the company operated 218 routes in Spain, an increase of 10% compared to 2023, and its outlook for 2025 is to increase capacity by 6.5% to 20.1 million seats.

British airline with bases in Barcelona, ​​Malaga, Palma and Alicante; announced 14 new routes for next year’s summer season, while Gandara announced this Wednesday routes linking Palma and Malaga with Zurich, which will be available from 30 and 31 March 2025 respectively. As of September 30, the airline had a fleet of 347 aircraft, up from 336 a year earlier.

El Prat

In addition to the controversy over the consumer fine for hand luggage, the British airline also raised the possibility that Low-cost airlines transfer from El Prat airport. solve the problems of its saturation due to the difficulties associated with its expansion. Gandara ruled out the possibility of redirecting the activities of these companies to other companies, for example in Girona or Reus. “You can’t kick a company out of an airport where it has a number of historic slots.. EasyJet wants to continue to fly to major airports and Barcelona will remain our main airport in Catalonia and the rest of Spain,” the company’s director warned.

Gándara explained that the restrictions in El Prat are especially felt during the high season, when there are certain time slots in which there is no room for new flights to be included. For this reason, he spoke in favor of expanding the airport to be able to respond to the growing demand that the city of Barcelona represents as a destination and to improve the logistics of flights at the station. “Plans to extend the maritime runway by approximately 500 meters will increase capacity and improve distribution.”– said Gandara.