Budget airlines giving passengers a "rough deal", warns Labour MP ahead of Westminster Hall debate
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Airline passengers get a “rough deal” from budget carriers pumping up prices for add-on extras, a campaigning MP will warn next week.
Labour backbencher Darren Jones, a former consumer rights lawyer, plans to use a parliamentary debate to “name and shame” an airline he feels ripped him off.
He hit out at top-up costs for seat booking fees, boarding pass charges and baggage charges following the Ryanair debacle which saw the company cancel thousands of flights, and the collapse of no-frills firm Monarch.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s 90-minute debate, Bristol North West MP Mr Jones told the Mirror: “With the continued squeezing of standard ticket pricing, airlines have chosen to make their money in other ways.
(Image: Bristol Post/SWNS)
“Charges for printing boarding passes, charges for seat reservations, charges for additional baggage - for any of us using low-cost airlines in the past few years, this has become a common experience.
“Airlines are entitled to do this.
“But I have significant concerns that some are doing it without following the spirit and letter of consumer law, resulting in consumer detriment and - in my view - a legitimate case for customer refunds following costly additional charges slapped on passengers when they have little choice but to pay.
“That has to stop.”
He believes many price comparison websites offer deals only on standard ticket prices - meaning consumers get a raw deal in securing the best prices for their flights.
(Image: AFP)
Fees to book seats, print boarding passes and to store cases in the hold often add up to more than the standard ticket price, he warned.
The low-cost airline industry has suffered a double whammy of major blows in recent weeks with Ryanair cancelling 20,100 flights over the autumn and winter, affecting more than 700,000 passengers, after it “messed up” its pilots’ rotas.
Last week, about 860,000 people lost bookings when Monarch folded.
Mr Jones called on Mirror readers to send him their stories of additional charges they have been forced to pay by airlines.
(Image: Getty)
He urged readers to complete a survey on his Facebook page or via Twitter .
The MP also pressed for consumer rights and protections to be guaranteed after Brexit .
“European Law underpins our modern consumer rights framework in the UK, but the enforcement of those rights has been, in some sectors, lacking,” he said.
“In my previous role as a consumer rights lawyer I attended meetings with the European Commission in Brussels where this view was shared by stakeholders right across Europe.
“This lack of enforcement has resulted in consumers being stung by some businesses without the ability to enforce their rights. One area where I believe this to be the case is the airline industry.”