Are you happy to pay a surcharge for an extra item of hand luggage when you fly? Do you think it is reasonable to pay for assistance to the aircraft if you cannot walk unaided? Apparently most of us, far from being irked by such charges, think they are fine.
BDRC Continental, a market research agency, claims budget airlines are "driving acceptance of hidden charges". In reality, most of these charges can no longer be classed as hidden given that anyone who has flown on a budget airline over the past few years knows that these extras are going to be piled on to the cost of their ticket. But acceptable? That is a different issue.
Stories on this topic published over the past few months have garnered a mixed response from our readers. Some think these charges are reasonable and that people should fly with a different carrier if they don't accept them. However, the majority seem to think they are pretty outrageous.
It is hard to believe BDRC's claim that as many as 66% of travellers think it is acceptable to be charged for an extra item of hand luggage on top of the cost of their ticket, and that 27% think it is acceptable to charge for assistance to the aircraft for those with mobility problems. While I can see an argument for the former, are we really saying it is OK for those who cannot walk to have to pay to get to the plane?
Half of those surveyed thought a surcharge on people over a certain weight was acceptable, which will please Ryanair which has suggested it may introduce this fee. Sixty-one per cent of people think it is fair to charge for priority boarding and 53% think a seat reservation charge is reasonable. Perhaps more surprisingly, 26% think it is OK to charge for a credit card payment, even though this can range from 2.5% to £10 depending on the airline.
That said, things have certainly changed. These sorts of charges are no longer the exclusive preserve of budget airlines. More recently, arlines such as BA and Virgin have introduced them, while on trains some operators have started to charge for seat reservations. Would any of them have had the nerve to do this if easyJet and Ryanair hadn't set such a profitable precedent?
If consumers really are more accepting of this kind of extra charge, should other industries follow suit? Can you see a day when you pay a booking fee to get a table at a restaurant or are asked to stump up to use a trolley in the supermarket?
