Passengers travelling on the budget airline Ryanair are to be offered cheaper air fares and the option of internet check-in from March - but they will also face charges of up to €7 for each item of luggage they check in.
The company claims the move, which will be introduced from March 16th, could cut the number of airport queues for its flights by as much as a half and will "incentivise" passengers to travel with only hand luggage.
A spokeswoman for Aer Lingus has confirmed it also intends to introduce online check-in later this year, but has no plans to charge customers for each piece of luggage checked in. The company already offers customers self-service check-in.
Under the new system to be introduced by Ryanair, any passenger travelling with hand luggage who has an EU passport will be able to check in at the company's website up to three days before their flight, where they will be asked to print up their own boarding card, complete with a pre-assigned barcode.
When they arrive at the airport, they can then proceed directly to the security check-in area, avoiding queues at check-in desks. Once there, the company says the boarding card will be scanned electronically to ensure it is valid. After proceeding through security, these passengers will also be given priority at boarding gates, where their passports will also be checked by airport staff.
However, any passenger looking to check in luggage will face a fee of €7 for each bag on each flight if they arrive at the airport without having first checked this in on the Ryanair website. Those passengers who have already checked in their luggage online will be charged €3.50 for each bag on each flight and will be required to present this luggage at check-in desks as normal.
The company says it is reducing its fares by 9 per cent - or €3.50 on average - to coincide with the new system and is increasing customers' luggage allowances from 25kg to 30kg. Ryanair says this will "substantially reduce" the amount it receives in excess baggage fees.
As a result, it claims the new changes will be "revenue neutral". However, it anticipates that its airport and handling costs will be reduced by more than 10 per cent, resulting in a saving of some €30 million.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary told The Irish Times yesterday that he expected up to half of its passengers to travel with just hand luggage by as early as this June. Currently, a quarter of Ryanair passengers fall into this category.
Ryanair believes these passengers in particular will benefit from the 9 per cent reduction in fares and claims that a further 50 per cent of passengers who currently check in a single bag will effectively see no change in the price of their ticket for the same reason.
Others checking in two or more pieces of luggage, while facing increased charges, will benefit from shorter check-in queues and will be encouraged to travel with less checked-in luggage in future, it believes.
Mr O'Leary also claimed that the introduction of the new measures would not lead to any job losses at the company's Irish airports. This is because existing employees would be reassigned to cope with the company's ongoing expansion of its routes here.
However, he acknowledged that there would be some minimal job losses "around the edges" at other airports outside Ireland.
A spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority welcomed yesterday's announcement by Ryanair, and said it was happy to facilitate its airline customers in its attempts to reduce queuing.