A holidaymaker has slammed ‘jobsworth’ Ryanair staff for charging him £75 extra for his suitcase being ‘too big’, despite him having travelled with it for three years with no problems.
Austin Price was flying from Bristol Airport to Krakow, Poland, on October 4 when he was stopped in the queue as staff asked him to put his suitcase in a measuring stand.
The 28-year-old, from Plymouth, Devon, claims that his luggage did fit in the gap but the wheels did not as they are ‘wonky’ and ‘a bit stiff’.
The cyber security worker was then horrified when a ‘rather rude’ Ryanair employee told him he would have to pay because it was too big – on top of the priority boarding payment he had made to take the 10kg bag on in the first place.
Mr Price shamed the brand online in a post, ranting: ‘What kind of f***ery is this? Just been charged £75 for a bag which clearly fits. Sort this s*** out.’
A holidaymaker has slammed Ryanair staff for charging him £75 extra for his suitcase being ‘too big’
Austin Price was flying from Bristol Airport to Krakow, Poland, on October 4 when ‘jobsworth’ staff checked his bag
The cyber security worker took to social media to share his frustration over the incident
This comes after a study showed that flying with British Airways can be cheaper than Ryanair once add-ons are included.
The report by Which? found Ryanair currently forces parents travelling with under 12s to pay for a seat next to their children, costing £8 when Which? checked – though Ryanair says prices start from €4 (£3.34).
Other airlines do not always guarantee that parents can sit with children, which may prompt travellers to pay to ensure their family can be together.
Mr Price’s own images of his suitcase in the measuring stand show that, while it fits on both height and width, the suitcase is visibly stuck out at the front.
Ryanair’s website states 10kg bags must fit within the three dimensions – 55 x 40 x 20cm – and his appeared to be deeper than the permitted 20cm.
Ryanair pointed this out by stating that the ‘passenger’s bag exceeded the dimensions allowed’ for a 10kg cabin bag and was ‘correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee of £75’.
However Mr Price blames the member of staff for ‘trying too much to do his job’ and doing it ‘poorly’.
Mr Price said: ‘We had priority, with which you get one hand luggage bag and one small suitcase. I used the same suitcase I have probably used for the last three years.
‘When boarding, there was one individual [member of staff] that was rather rude. There was a guy that was asked to put his backpack in the box and the worker’s response was that he has an attitude problem.
‘The guy had his headphones on so he did not even hear him. He seemed confused; he had to put his backpack in when it obviously fit.
‘They have changed the [measuring] boxes now. Before, you could wheel the suitcase in, while the new ones are like an open gap, almost like they are trying to catch people out.
‘My suitcase was the size that fit in the gap and I have a photo of it sitting in, but because the wheels area a bit stiff it wouldn’t sit flat because of the weight of the wheels.
Mr Price said staff told him he would have to pay because it was too big – on top of the priority boarding payment he had made to take the 10kg bag on in the first place
The 28-year-old blamed a member of staff for ‘trying too much to do his job’ and doing it ‘poorly’
‘The wheels are not the size of the suitcase. I said it clearly fits in but he said that I have to pay.
‘I thought it was only going to be around £28 as it is on their website and I thought ‘that’s annoying but I’ll take the hit, gave my bank details and all of a sudden I got charged £75.’
Mr Price believes the employee was being rude and ‘trying too much’ to do their job – the definition of a ‘jobsworth’.
Mr Price said: ‘I didn’t get the chance to take any stuff out. I didn’t get the option. I feel like he [the member of staff] was trying too much to do his job. I know he was trying to do his job but he did it a bit too much and poorly.
‘There were a few people that had to pay for their luggage as well. There was someone with a tiny little pram and they had to pay also.
‘The majority of people we saw on the way out were on the same flight back and no one had to pay, not one person.
‘It’s one of those frustrating things, some people lose a big part of their spending money, some people are going on these holidays on a budget and can only afford three or four meals out on their holiday.
‘It would be better to spend that money on a nice meal with your partner on holiday than paying double for luggage that you have already paid for as priority.’
Mr Price was angry at how much he was charged after already paying for Priority boarding so he could take on the 10kg case so wrote an email to Ryanair complaining.
However he claims they simply responded informing him how much he had to pay.
Mr Price said: ‘I sent an email and the response was s**t. They obviously didn’t read what I wrote in the email because the response I got was them stating how much I have to pay but that’s not what I asked.
‘I have already paid and was told that I shouldn’t have paid so I wanted a refund. I literally used it a month ago with easyjet. I flew with Ryanair in April with the same bag and had no issues.’
However Ryanair pointed out that the suitcase simply didn’t fit in the ‘fit to fly’ measuring box.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: ‘This passenger’s bag exceeded the dimensions allowed for a 10kg cabin bag and was correctly required to pay a standard gate baggage fee of £75 to carry a 10kg cabin bag onboard.’