As millions of travellers across Europe head into the busy summer season, I am reaching out with our report that dives deep into the myriad of hidden fees and taxes charged by airlines on top of the basic air fare we pay.
There are dozens of hidden charges for services that may appear optional but are often unavoidable when booking an airline ticket. Transparency around pricing, however, should be prioritised, which is why the team at Tradingpedia decided to investigate the not-so-obvious fees airlines apply to tickets. We looked into various fees and taxes charged by several European airlines.
We discovered that many airlines present essential services as optional extras, thus making their ticket price appear lower than it truly is, even though the final cost can end up well above the average due to hidden fees. Wizz Air emerges as the airline charging the highest fees of all seven, with £207.93 for check-in and seat selection, among others.
Here are a few key takeaways from the report:
- Wizz Air tops the list with airlines’ hidden fees, charging a total of £207.93 for several optional, yet sometimes unavoidable fees such as checked baggage fees, online booking fees, and rescue fees.
- Ryanair ranks second, charging its passengers £198.58 on top of the air fare for the same services. EasyJet has the third-highest fees at £180.48, followed by Vueling with £151.20.
- British Airways appears to have the lowest additional fees at only £64. Norwegian has the second-lowest fees (£71.53 in total), while Jet2 charges £91.50 on average.
- Many airlines charge for services that appear optional but are often unavoidable, such as the so-called rescue feefor missed departure, group booking fees, and even infant charges, ranging from £25 at Ryanair and easyJet to up to £137 at Vueling.
Our report looks into seven widely popular airlines across Europe, namely British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Norwegian, Ryanair, Vueling, and Wizz Air. We sourced data from their official websites, but the majority of the fees we included in our calculations are based on bookings for one-way flights on 21 July, a high season for travel, from London to several destinations in Europe (Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, and Athens). We chose flight dates in late July (during high season) but on weekdays since these are typically cheaper. We also picked the most affordable fares where no additional services are included.
