Airport spies get a bounty for pinging over-sized bags

Ever wondered why you get pinged for trying to sneak over-sized hand luggage onto your budget flight?

You might well be the victim of an airport snitch.

Airport workers employed on behalf of easyJet are being paid bonuses to stop passengers with suspected oversized baggage.

A leaked email shows gate staff at contractor Swissport are "eligible to receive £1.20 for every gate bag taken" at British airports, travel news hub Travel Mole reports.

The email was addressed to staff at seven UK airports including Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle.

It is called the "easyJet gate bag revenue incentive".

A former Swissport passenger service manager said: “Confronting people with excess baggage is like taking on fare dodgers. You risk abuse or worse.”

easyJet allows a small bag to be brought onto flights for free - and larger ones for an additional fee, starting from £5.99.

Oversized cabin bags seized at the gate are put in the hold at a cost of £48 for the errant passenger.

The email was sent out in November 2023 but the incentive scheme is still operating, Travel Mole reported.

“We serve our airline customers and apply their policies under terms and conditions for managing their operation."Swissport said in response.

"We’re highly professional and our focus is on delivering safe and efficient operations.”

easyJet said in a statement: “easyJet is focused on ensuring our ground handling partners apply our policies correctly and consistently in fairness to all our customers.

“Our bag policies and options are well understood and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel and on their boarding pass.”

Extra fees a growing scandal in the "hospitality" industry

Do you check your hotel bill carefully before checking out?

More than ever you should now do so religiously.

And if you have been hit with spurious charges for facilities you did not use then you should hit back.

In the US, and where the US leads the rest of the world follows, hotels are increasing imposing what are known as "junk fees" to hotel bills, often without prior notice.

Global Travel Media - an online news service - has been highlighting this plague of greed.

It reported one guest found a completely unwarranted $20 “Daily Mandatory Destination Charge” on his bill.

Hotel "resort charges" were supposed to have disappeared after the US government declared war on junk fees earlier this year.

Instead, hotels have just re-badged the charges.

In Las Vegas, for instance, if you stay at the upmarket Bellagio, you will be charged $US51.02 per night per accommodation as a "resort fee". 

This includes fitness centre access, internet access and phone calls.

Given most folk have a cell phone and most would not want to use the gym that sounds outrageous. 

At Caesar's Palace it is $US52.10 per night, with the added inclusion of access to the hotel pool.  

Wherever you are staying, if you were not advised of the extra charges in advance then my advice would be to refuse to pay them. Demand the manager come to reception and strike those charges off, write "paid under duress" on your credit card form, or take to social media to call them out.

If a hotel room is advertised at $129 per night, that is what you should pay, not $129 plus $25 charges for stuff you did not want or use.

Randy Greencorn, publisher of ResortFeeChecker.com - in the US there is a website for absolutely everything, except perhaps rearing aardvarks as pets - has some advice.

“Hotels have gotten creative in their terminology,” he told Global Travel Media. “A resort fee is sometimes called a destination fee, administrative fee, cleaning fee, service fee or utility fee.

"Some hotels now charge towel fees, bed sheet fees and concierge fees. These are all mandatory fees on top of the room rate and taxes.”

Time to stand up for your rights people. 

Or just choose a hotel that doesn't gouge you.  

Image: Jukari Zamora, Scop.io

Wifi charges and enforced gratuities soar

If there is a rort that will extract more money from travellers then US "hospitality" businesses will find it.

Think the outrage of "resort fees" - where you have to pay for stuff you don't want and will not use. Or early check-in fees, late check-out fees, or room service charges on top of already excessive menu prices.

Cruise lines are experts at charging for extras: making you pay for gratuities even though the staff might not offer great service, and demanding extortionate fees for internet usage.

Florida-based Carnival Cruise Line has just hit its customers with a new year double whammy: increasing both its internet charges and gratuities.

Beginning with embarkations on January 16, Carnival's premium wifi package will cost $18.70 per day, up from $17. That's US dollars, so $27.70 in Australian dollars, or close to $300 for a 10-day cruise.

Carnival will charge $17 per day, up from $14.45, for its "value" package and its "social" package will cost $12.75 per day - but only includes access to social media and airline websites.

Gratuities for suites will increase on April 1.

Carnival will charge each guest $18 per day, up from $16.60. For standard staterooms, daily gratuities will increase to $16 per person, up from $14.50 per person.

I prefer to reward staff individually for great service, but enforced gratuities are an accepted part of the cruise business.

This is the second time in less than a year that Carnival has increased gratuities.

Norwegian Cruise Line also recently boosted its tip charges, increasing gratuities to between $25-$20 per day.

It is well worth bearing these extra charges in mind when booking a cruise.

Image: Julia Xian, Scop.io