Ryanair pay staff to catch customers with excess baggage
30th November 2011
Baggage handlers paid 50p for every bag they identify as oversized
Staff at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport are being offered cash bonuses to help RyanAir catch passengers trying to take oversized or overweight hand luggage onto their flights.
Employees of the baggage handling contractor Servisair are given 50p for every bag they identify as either too bag or too heavy. The offending passenger, however, is hit with a baggage fine of up to £40.
Many customers choose to take only hand luggage on short trips in Europe to avoid Ryanair's checked-in baggage fees. In the past, Servisair handlers have turned a blind eye to bags marginally over the Ryanair limits. That has changed since the introduction of this new incentive.
“If I see a bag that could be on the borderline I say, let's have a look,” admitted one Servisair employee. “Previously we might have let borderline baggage through.”
This being a Ryanair incentive, there are catches, of course. Handlers are only eligible for payment once they reach a target of ten bags a week. And even then, they are not allowed to earn more than £5 each week. Wags on some internet forums have suggested that customers caught out should offer the handlers a pound, doubling the handlers cut and saving themselves £39 in the process.
Stephen McNamara of Ryanair points out that customers only have themselves to blame if they are caught out.
“All of our passengers are advised of, and agree to, our generous 10 kg cabin bag allowance during booking and are reminded of our allowances in follow-up emails and on our boarding cards, which passengers print out before they leave for the airport.
You have been warned.
Heading off on a city break and not sure of the what your airline allows? You need to check out our Ultimate Budget Airline Cabin Baggage Guide.
More like this
Passenger ‘mutiny’ over Ryanair baggage charges | News ... More
Baggage tracking on mobile phones | News ... More
Bringing back baggage | News ... More