Wizz Air (read my snapshot review here) the Eastern European low-cost carrier, is adjusting their baggage policy to match the recently tightened policy of Ryan Air. But, in this case its actually an improvement over their even more stringent and costly policy before! They are introducing a new 10kg check-in bag at a lower fee, making it potentially less expensive than before! It’s a small improvement, but might make travel better for some. Find out the details below.
Wizz Air is a fast-growing budget airline based in Hungary with flights all over Europe. They had the most stringent carry-on policy of all LCCs so far, only allowing a small personal item, unless you paid extra!
Recently, Ryan Air changed their previously very generous carry-on policy to match Wizz Air at the bottom of the barrel, down to the size of the personal item! But they introduced a smaller and less expensive checked bag of 10kg.
Now, Wizz Air is copying that move and also introducing the same 10kg check in bag. The personal item is unchanged. You also have the option to pay for “priority” which will allow you to bring a standard-size carry-on with a weight of up to 10kg onboard, also matching Ryan Air’s new policy. The new policy is even effective on the same date, November 1, 2018. You can see all the details below:
There you have it, now there is harmony at the very bottom of the low-cost carrier market and the largest European LCCs are all constricting carry-ons to unreasonable levels. As I pointed out in the Ryan Air post, the personal item measurements exclude most day-backpacks or computer bags, and even some handbags I’ve see, making it completely unpractical for most travelers.
I’m all in favor of “unbundled pricing”, allowing passengers to just pay for what they need. But when travel essentials are added on, like a reasonable amount of carry-on or fuel-charges, it’s just opaque pricing, where airlines are trying to trick their passengers with low base fares – and then scam them at the end.
I recommend to pay the small fee for “Priority” – it”s a lot less than the fine for having your carry-on gate checked, unless you travel with a tiny purse. So, before you book that bargain fare on Wizz Air or Ryan Air, make sure you purchase checked bags and priority boarding as needed to avoid hefty gate fees.
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