Ryanair could give staff more money for spotting passengers with oversized bags

Daily Record

14 hours ago

The budget airline currently pays staff about 1.50 euros (£1.30) for spotting people trying to bring oversized bags on to the aircraft
Ryanair is contemplating an increase in the bonus given to staff for spotting passengers with oversized luggage, according to its chief executive. The airline currently rewards staff approximately 1.50 euros (£1.30) for catching customers attempting to bring larger bags onto the plane.
It has been reported that this bonus is limited to roughly 80 euros (£70) per employee each month. Passengers face a charge of up to 75 euros (£65) for bringing luggage that exceeds the size they declared when booking their flight.
At present, Ryanair includes a small carry-on bag – restricted to dimensions of 40x20x25cm and a weight limit of 10kg – with every ticket. Fees apply for those wishing to bring larger or additional bags.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary announced on Monday that summer fares are expected to remain on par with 2023 rates, but he anticipates an uptick in profitability for the carrier by "controlling costs". Members of the European Parliament are advocating for airlines to permit passengers to bring a personal item and small hand luggage onboard at no extra cost.
Nonetheless, Mr O'Leary has forecasted that this proposal will not be enacted due to space constraints.
Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland about the business news, he said: "We're flying largely full flights, about half the passengers can bring two bags and the other half can only bring one – because that's all that fits in the plane. We're already struggling with that amount of baggage. That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about eliminating the scourge of passengers with excess baggage."
Mr O'Leary mentioned that more than 99.9% of passengers adhere to baggage rules, with "sizers" available within the airport.
He said: "We are happy to incentivise our (staff) with a share of those excess baggage fees, which we think will decline over the coming year or two."
The chief executive added: "It is about 1.50 euro per bag – and we're thinking of increasing it, so we eliminate it."
In addition, Mr O'Leary predicted that US President Donald Trump will "chicken out" of implementing increased tariffs for Europe on August 1.
When questioned if he expected tariffs to affect Boeing aircraft deliveries to the airline, he replied: "Trump will probably chicken out again, I suspect the August 1 will get moved to September or October.
"We have taken delivery of five aircraft in the first quarter but no tariffs applied to those aircraft There is a risk of tariffs being introduced by the Europeans or the Americans in some tit-for-tat in August, September or October – but Boeing will have to pay those tariffs."
Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would collaborate with Boeing to guarantee that commercial aircraft remain exempt from any tariffs, arguing such measures would harm the manufacturer's European exports alongside Airbus's American sales – not to mention Ireland's aircraft leasing sector.
He continued: "There's increasing optimism, though, in Washington that commercial aircraft will be exempt from any tariffs – if Trump ever gets around to actually imposing tariffs."