Report shows airlines with the worst hidden fees – charging up to £200 extra

THE airlines with the most expensive hidden fees have been revealed, with passengers warned to be aware of extra costs.

Flights with budget airlines can be very cheap, but often come without things like checked luggage, or a seat on the plane next to family or friends.

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In a new report, the fees charged by different seven airlines were analysed to see whose fees were the most expensive and which carrier offered the best value.

The data looked at British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Norwegian, Ryanair, Vueling, and Wizz Air and compared the fees for several services, including seat selection, luggage, and check-in.

The numbers were collected from the airlines’ official websites and
through looking at one-way flights from London to several destinations in Europe such as Madrid, Rome, Lisbon, Amsterdam, and Nice.

All the flights were for dates in early July, during high season, but on weekdays, since these are typically cheaper.

These included the most affordable fares where no additional services were included.

From the analysis, compiled by TradingPedia, Ryanair, Vueling, and Wizz Air were revealed to be the airlines that charged the most.

Their extra fees amounted to £220, £211, and £194, respectively, when analysed.

Making things more difficult for passengers is the fact that not all airlines immediately display the additional fees on their site when passengers are trying to book.

These often remain “hidden” up until the moment holidaymakers fill in detailed payment information for the booking.

At the other end of the scale, Jet2 seems to have the lowest additional fees with their extras only reaching £66.

Ryanair, Vueling and Wizz Air were all contacted for comment.

Even with airlines charging extra fees, there are ways passengers can keep costs down when flying with budget carriers.

Tom Church, Co-Founder of website LatestDeals.co.uk, uses alert systems online to ensure he finds the cheapest available flights for wherever he wants to go.

He said: “Google Flights, which is free, has some nifty tools most people don’t know about to help you find bargains.

“You can set your budget and search for open dates to either specific or open destinations.

“Then, what I do is create free email alerts. These email alerts tell you whether the flights are below-average price, average, or a high price.

“I’ve been a bit obsessed over the past year and have set up thousands of these alerts. You can then filter them so you only see the best deals. It’s like having your personal travel agent.

“The good news is that flight deals are out there, and I’ve found some great offers which result in savings of £80 on average.”

This airline employee revealed the cheapest days and times to book tickets.

Meanwhile, private planes could also be a surprising option to save money.

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