Easyjet hand luggage / You and yours

[25F]

For the non-UK non-Radio4 listeners: "You and yours" is a consumer affairs radio programme. Generally I avoid it due to the low standard of reporting. But when I saw recently that one episode featured "Easyjet baggage changes" I listened to the podcast. Much talk of "new requirements" etc...

Of course, all they have done is introduce a system whereby *small* bags are guaranteed not to be part of the off-load in the case that there's just too much stuff in the cabin.


Grrrr....

[Sunnyjohn]

Dunno what they're going to do about all this. The fact is that present, on full Lo Co flights, there is insufficient room in the overhead bins. Lo Co's are anxious to avoid giving business to their competitors by doing something serious about it, so they tinker about, like Squeasy is now doing. It won't solve the problem and, as I see at, at least at present, the problem will not go away.

[PAXboy]

It was discussed in a thread about baggage (Cabin + hold) a short while ago when the changes were first announced, so that thread should be EZYily available. :p

[ExXB]

At least they could apply their policy consistently. Mrs ExXB goes through the roof when she is told she must put her handbag inside her wheelie bag when she sees others that are not told the same thing.

Of course it doesn't work to say, 'you didn't make them do it' but it doesn't make her a happy camper. Of course she squeezes her handbag in, and two metres further along takes it out again.

On our last (very) full flight I put my full size* wheelie bag under the seat in front of me. I was in the centre seat and the cabin crew didn't notice. I'm sure I wasn't legal.

Yes, I know, we should show up earlier but ...

*full size = the old IATA maximum size, bigger than the new Squeezy size.

[25F]

@ExXB - why not legal? If it fits under the seat, it's okay? Or did it jut out into the floor? NB the Easyjet maximum cabin bag size is *still* the IATA size.

@Sunnyjohn - if the maximum bag size remains, then on full flights there's likely to be bags going in the hold. What they've done is apply some sort of system rather than just making it a lottery. I.e. any "premium" fare payers, and anybody with a "small" bag can be sure it won't be them.

[ExXB]

It did jut out, a little, and I expect it would have 'impeded' the passenger in the window seat's egress in an emergency. But since that was my dear wife I was comfortable being a little illegal, as I could and would assist her.

And it was her own bloody fault we didn't both get space in the overhead. My goodness how much time can you spend in a duty free shop and buy nothing?

Ooops, rant over! :p

[Espada III]

The principal reason for boarding first even with allocated seating is to get your cabin bags in the locker above your seat before someone else takes the space.

Surely it is not beyond the wit of aeroplane designers to find space for one IATA sized cabin bag in the cabin for each passenger.

[rethymnon]

At the risk of appearing thick(!), can anyone tell me whether you are charged for 'hold baggage' if Squeezyjet decide there is insufficient room for your cabin bag? I've tried to find my way through the whys and wherefores on their website but cannot find a clear answer. (If it were Ryanair, I wouldn't have needed to ask.)

[Espada III]

No. If its the right size for the cabin, there is no charge if it is taken from you at the gate or on board and placed in the hold. Indeed they offer free Speedy Boarding to those who willingly give up cabin baggage at the gate.

[Sunnyjohn]

@Sunnyjohn - if the maximum bag size remains, then on full flights there's likely to be bags going in the hold. What they've done is apply some sort of system rather than just making it a lottery. I.e. any "premium" fare payers, and anybody with a "small" bag can be sure it won't be them. At the moment, the gate staff ask for volunteers to offer their hand luggage into the hold at no charge. I have seen very little uptake on that. Is it likely in the future that, on full flights, latecomers will be told that there is no more room and their hand luggage must go into the hold?

[25F]

@Sunnyjohn - put it this way, the aircraft isn't going anywhere until the cabin is legal.

@Espada III - two problems here, as I see it. The main manufacturers are still pretty much wedded to the 737 and A320 fuselages. Secondly, if there were space for an IATA-per-pax it would be over-sized for most situations - hence more expensive to push through the air. But I am not an aircraft designer.

[Booglebox]

Is it likely in the future that, on full flights, latecomers will be told that there is no more room and their hand luggage must go into the hold?

This already happens a fair bit on a certain flag carrier I usually fly on, who actually offer a free, fairly generous bag allowance to most customers AFAIK. EZY must be even worse (I have no idea).

[ExXB]

To fit more bags you would need to be able to put that IATA bag on its narrowest side wheels in. To do that you would have to have less standing room. If it could be done, somebody would have done it already.

[fa2fi]

I'm not familiar with the airline "squeezyjet", but like it had been said already easyJet do not make you pay for hold bags to be checked at the gate if there is no room. You'll be offered to volunteer or be made to put the bag in the hold, after being asked to remove your passport and any medication needed for the flight. This does not apply to guaranteed bags which will always be allowed onboard even if you are the 180th person to board.

If I'm honest when I was crew fitting rollons would not be a problem if only people put small items under the seat in front. You'll regularly see people taking up half a bin with a small handbag, purchases from the terminal and coats. Obviously this doesn't work and requires a lot of effort to move things around by the crew or asking people to place smaller items under a seat where possible.

I see this issue on my regular BA Shutle flight so this is not a U2 or LCC in general issue.

[Sunnyjohn]

Many thanks for your answers. I'm not particularly worried but Mrs SJ might be!

[rethymnon]

Mrs Rethymnon will be very pleased that I can now put her mind at rest!