Ryanair welcomed the filing of a complaint by the European Consumer Organization to the European Commission against several airlines this week with the Irish no-frills carrier saying that the Commission would confirm that Ryanair’s bags policy fully complies with European Union law, which grants all European Union airlines the freedom to set prices, including prices of optional services.
The airline said in a statement: "Ryanair allows each passenger to carry a generous (40 x 25 x 20 cm) personal bag on board free as part of its basic air fare, with the option to add extra bags for an optional fee should they so wish. This policy promotes both low fares and consumer choice. If airlines were forced to include additional carry-on bags as part of the basic fare, it would reduce choice and drive-up air fares for all passengers, which would harm consumers."
The communique from Ryanair continued: "the 2014 precedent ruling of the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) in the “Vueling” case has confirmed that airlines are entitled to charge passengers for carrying extra bags, as long as the carriage of passengers’ precious and indispensable items (i.e., a small personal bag) is included in the price of the ticket.
"This ruling was issued in the context of unlawful attempts by Xunta (the government) de Galicia to force Vueling to carry all bags free of charge. Numerous courts across Europe (and the EU Commission) all agree that this ECJ precedent in the “Vueling” case conclusively establishes that airlines are entitled to charge fees for the carriage of checked bags and extra cabin baggage on top of the free personal cabin baggage which is included in basic fares.
"If the European Consumer Organization is genuinely concerned about consumers being “exploited”, then why does it continue to ignore the rampant consumer harm being caused by overcharging OTAs, who continue to induce unsuspecting consumers into paying unjustified hidden mark-ups for flights and ancillary products that cost much less when booked directly on airlines’ websites? Outlawing these harmful OTA overcharges and enforcing transparency in OTA pricing would be a much better use of BEUC and its members’ resources."