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Ryanair is introducing a bonus scheme for employees who identify oversized baggage.
The budget carrier, which competes with Jet2, Easyjet, Wizz Air, TUI, KLM, Air France and other major operators in the UK market, plans to reward staff who catch passengers with non-compliant luggage in queues, reports Birmingham Live.
Paul Stewart, founder of My Baggage USA, believes this initiative represents just “the tip of the iceberg” for airline restrictions. He anticipates that additional low-cost carriers will shortly adopt similar measures.
He explained: “When airline management implements bonuses for spotting baggage abuses, staff enforcement will obviously become more stringent. As for Ryanair, I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. Once other low-cost airlines realise the potential for profit, they will most likely follow suit.
“Instead of giving passengers the benefit of the doubt, staff are now actively seeking out reasons to impose fees, and the definition of ‘suitable baggage’ is getting more and more restrictive.” He cautioned: “Travellers must now pack and measure much more precisely as a result of this change.”
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has verified that airline personnel receive commission for each bag subjected to the oversized baggage charge.
O’Leary revealed that workers earn €1.50 for every bag penalised with the fee, which typically costs passengers between €70 and €75. On Monday, O’Leary spoke to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland about considering an increase in staff bonus rates as a means to tackle what he termed the “scourge” of passengers with oversized luggage.
He stated: “We’re flying largely full flights, about half the passengers can bring two bags and the other half can only bring one – because that’s all that fits in the plane.
“We’re already struggling with that amount of baggage. That’s one of the reasons we are so aggressive about eliminating the scourge of passengers with excess baggage.”
