Ryanair hikes bag and check-in charges
29 April 2008Ryanair today raised the cost of putting bags in the hold and checking in at airports as the high cost of oil forced airlines to scrabble for extra revenues.
Passengers on Europe’s largest budget carrier will have to pay £16 per bag for a return trip and £8 to use a check-in desk per return journey from next Monday, amid widespread fears for the financial health of the aviation industry.
The cost of fuelling aircraft has soared this year as the global oil price has climbed from around $80 a barrel to nearly $120. Fuel accounts for a quarter of airline budgets and the resulting financial squeeze has triggered a wave of bankruptcies on both sides of the Atlantic, amid warnings from some analysts that major carriers could go to the wall or be forced to merge with rivals in order to survive.
source: guardian.co.uk