I regularly travel from Southampton to Dublin on Aer Lingus regional flights to visit my mother. I usually pay between £160 and £200.
In September I was asked to measure my carry-on bag when boarding in Southampton, then told it was too big and to pay a £35 fee.
But I had flown the same route nine times in the last nine months with the same suitcase, and the other times everything was fine. On three of those occasions, I even measured it on the baggage meter and was told it was within limits.
On the return trip, I asked an Aer Lingus employee if I needed to check luggage and was told no. He was allowed to board the plane without problems. Is this fair? AR, Hampshire
Up on the Aer: Aer Lingus told this reader their bag was too big, even though they had used it many times on the same route without issue.
Helen Crane from This is Money responds: Worrying about the size of your bag is now an integral part of air travel, especially as the limits seem to be getting smaller and smaller.
What was once a relatively generous allowance now sees some airlines allowing no more than a small backpack on the plane without the need to pay an additional fee.
I understand your frustration, as the fact that a suitcase was accepted on the same flight no less than nine times (three of which were deemed by staff to fit on the suitcase measurer) would strongly suggest that the size was acceptable.
After reluctantly paying the £35 charge, he contacted Emerald Airlines, which operates regional Aer Lingus flights, to complain about the lack of consistency.
He received a response saying it is up to airport staff to make the decision.
But because everything was fine before, you feel that the staff member made a mistake on that occasion. He also said other passengers on the same flight were asked to pay for bags they had not previously needed.
He contacted me to ask if I could encourage Aer Lingus to see reason.
But unfortunately it didn’t fly. An Emerald Airlines spokesperson reiterated that everything depended on the discretion of airport staff and that their decision was final.
It said: ‘Aer Lingus regional flights, operated by Emerald Airlines, have a hand luggage limit of 7kg per passenger. The maximum dimensions for hand luggage on these flights are 48x33x20cm.
“Due to limited space on board our aircraft, gate staff at all airports must enforce this limit.”
He was unimpressed and replied: “This is not a budget airline – it charges premium prices.” There’s no point in accusing someone who has flown nine times in the last nine months with the same suitcase.’
Rules are rules, but as the price of airline tickets continues to rise, customers are increasingly bothered by additional charges for things like luggage. Airlines may have to review their policies if they want to keep them on board.