Air passenger advocate calls carry-on crackdown unfair
Posted May 27, 2015 10:00:08 AM.
Last Updated May 27, 2015 10:51:22 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A local man who has become a national advocate for airline passenger rights isn’t happy with Air Canada’s carry-on clamp down.
The airline started strictly enforcing baggage size restrictions for those trying to avoid their recently announced $25 fee for checked luggage.
Gabor Lukacs told News 95.7 he thinks charging for bags is the wrong way to go.
“In my view, the Canadian Transportation Agency should have stepped in to make sure that one piece of standard checked piece of baggage is in the standard price of the ticket,” he said. “The airline could give people a discount if they choose not to check-in a bag”
Lukacs said these added fees are a way for airlines to increase the cost of travel without raising ticket prices, and its a form of gouging the public.
“Currently baggage fees are not necessarily viewed by the Canadian Transportation Agency as part of your ticket, which I strongly disagree with,” he said. “Carrying your belongings when you travel is not an optional thing, it’s part and parcel with travelling.”
Lukacs said the crackdown will force travellers to buy new luggage, and called the fee is a cash grab.
