A new study by Australian-based luggage brand Kadi Luggage reveals that Malaysia Airlines has the highest fees for extra baggage and seat selection, charging passengers up to 66% more than the original return ticket price quoted.
In contrast, Virgin Australia, Qatar Airways and Air New Zealand are the most cost-stable throughout the whole payment journey, charging no additional costs for checked luggage up to 20 kilograms and seat selection.
The study looked at flight prices on each airline’s website across similar routes between 6000 and 8000 kilometres for a seven-day round trip, assessing the additional fees to meet standardised requirements: minimum of 20 kilograms checked luggage, 7 kilograms of cabin luggage and seat selection.
The initial price of the flight was compared with the final cost of the flight to uncover the percentage increase accounting for the additional fees.
“This data highlights that whilst airlines may present an initially great deal, once you factor in the additional charges for services like extra luggage allowance and seat selection, the cost of your ticket can substantially increase.
“Being mindful of your baggage weight is a great way to curb these additional fees.Using a super lightweight suitcase, like Kadi’s soft-shell cases, ensures you get the most out of your baggage allowance and avoid unnecessary extra fees, allowing you to make the most of your overall travel budget,” Harry Saunders, Co-founder of Kadiluggage.com, said.
Whilst all airlines allow a minimum of 7 kilograms for cabin baggage without incurring an additional fee, Scoot offers the most generous cabin allowance at 10 kilograms. However, Scoot also has the lowest checked baggage allowance, with none included in the economy ticket, unless travellers upgrade to the ScootPlus airfare, at nearly double the price.
Malaysia Airlines isn’t far behind, offering just 10 kilograms of checked luggage allowance included in the flight price. In fact, Malaysia Airlines’ cost for additional checked luggage up to 20 kilograms can cost travellers around 60% of the initial flight price, whilst Scoot’s add-on fee for checked luggage up to 20 kilograms costs around 29% of the initial flight cost.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airlines boasts the most generous checked baggage allowance for the round trip analysed, offering travellers 35 kilograms included in the cost of their flights.
Seat selection fees range from 0% to 12%
Cathay Pacific was revealed to have the highest seat selection fees, amounting to 11.96% of the initial cost of the flight, followed by Qantas Airways with seat selection totalling 7.71% of the initial flight cost.
Air New Zealand Airways, Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia all charged no additional fees for seat selection.
