October 19th 2024.
A recent incident involving Ryanair has sparked controversy after a passenger, Austin Price, accused staff members of being too strict with their baggage policies. Price, a 28-year-old cyber security worker, had flown with the airline before and had never encountered any issues with his luggage. However, on a recent trip from Bristol Airport to Krakow, Poland, he was asked to place his suitcase in the airline's measuring stand before boarding.
Despite being confident that his bag would fit, Price was told by a "rather rude" staff member that he would have to pay an additional fee of £75 because his bag was too big. Frustrated with the situation, Price took to social media to share his experience, posting a photo of his luggage in the measuring stand and expressing his disbelief at the situation. He also pointed out that he had flown with his bag on previous trips, including one with Ryanair, without any issues.
Upon closer inspection of the photo, it was revealed that a small portion of Price's suitcase was sticking out of the measuring stand. He later explained that this was due to his suitcase's "wonky" wheels, which caused it to not sit flat in the stand. According to Ryanair's baggage policies, items must fit within three dimensions of height, width, and depth, with a maximum size of 55 x 40 x 20cm for a 10kg bag allowed with priority boarding. While Price's bag met the height and width requirements, it appeared to be slightly deeper than allowed, leading the airline to justify their decision to charge him the standard gate baggage fee of £75.
Price, however, believes that the staff member was being too strict and not taking into account the unique circumstances of his situation. He explained that the airline's measuring boxes had recently been changed and were now more like "open gaps" that were designed to catch people out. He also stated that his bag fit perfectly in the gap, but the stiff wheels caused it to stick out slightly. Despite his attempts to reason with the staff member and show that his bag fit within the dimensions, he was still charged the hefty fee.
To make matters worse, Price claims that he was not given a chance to remove anything from his suitcase, even though he believes its hard shell would have limited the impact. He also noted that he saw other passengers being charged for their luggage, including someone with a small pram. On their return flight, however, he noticed that no one seemed to be charged for their luggage. This inconsistency in their enforcement of baggage policies only added to Price's frustration, as he believed that people were needlessly losing a significant portion of their holiday spending money.
In response to Price's claims, a spokesperson for Ryanair stated that his bag exceeded the allowed dimensions for a 10kg cabin bag and therefore, the standard gate baggage fee of £75 was correctly applied. However, Price remains adamant that the staff member was "trying too much to do his job" and not doing it well. He also pointed out that the money spent on the extra baggage fee could have been better used for a nice meal on holiday with his partner. This incident serves as a reminder for passengers to carefully adhere to airline baggage policies, but also highlights the need for staff members to use discretion and common sense in enforcing these policies.
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