When is a guarantee not a guarantee? In the case of Easyjet’s cabin bag guarantee, it’s when the airport departure gate staff ignore it. Has Easyjet put your cabin baggage in the hold?
Easyjet has offered the guarantee to all cabin bags measuring no more than 50 x 40 x 20cm since July last year. All of these petite carriers are supposed to be allowed into overhead lockers, or under the seat in front, no matter how packed the flight.
As the airline puts it: ‘Our cabin bag guarantee means you can make sure your bag travels with you in the cabin, even on the busiest flights.’
The idea is that the maximum cabin bag size remains at 56 x 45 x 25cm, but if space gets tight the larger bags will be put in the hold while anyone with bags meeting the guaranteed size (50 x 40 x 20cm) will be allowed to keep them.
Putting my bag in the hold
So when I showed up at Stansted for a busy flight to Spain this Easter I was confident I’d be keeping hold of my cabin bag, which I knew met the guaranteed size.
Yet I was taken aback at the departure gate when I was told I’d have to put my bag in the hold because it was too big. Annoyed, I pointed out it met the guarantee, and was immediately waved through.
It was a brief victory because as we approached the aircraft I saw people in front of me being told to give up cabin bags that were far smaller than mine. I began to worry that my bag and I were soon to be parted.
And sure enough I was told to leave my bag at the aircraft entrance as it had to go in the hold. I don’t like to cause a fuss, but a guarantee is guarantee, so again I stated it met those sizes. And again, there was no quibbling; I was allowed to keep my bag.
But if I hadn’t known about the guarantee, my bag would have been down in the hold, worrying me because it had cameras, tablets and other breakables that I wanted to keep close.
Easyjet stands by its guarantee
Once home, I asked Easyjet if the guarantee was in fact worthless, and the company insisted it still stood but ground staff had not followed the correct process for my flight.
What they should have done was to use a gauge to measure bags before telling passengers to give them up. So the guarantee is there, but only if ground staff remember to offer it correctly.
The lesson? Stand your ground if you know your bag meets the guaranteed size. Don’t be pushed into giving it up.
A guarantee is a guarantee, and Easyjet HQ is standing by it, even if some airport staff don’t.
Loading ...
