Airline considering bigger bonuses for staff who spot oversized bags
A budget air carrier based in Europe is cracking down on passengers who bring oversized luggage with them on flights in violation of the airline's limits – and could soon be giving a bigger bonus to workers who flag non-compliant luggage.
Ireland-based Ryanair currently provides workers with about 1.50 euros, or about $1.75, as a reward for identifying passengers' bags that don't conform to the airline's standards. The Sunday Times reported that the bonus is capped at 80 euros, or about $93.50, citing a former employee's paycheck.
Ryanair's fees for oversized luggage rise up to 75 euros, or $87.66, if they bring a bag that is larger than what they paid for when booking their trip. The airline does allow passengers to bring one small carry-on bag with them.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said Monday on RTE's "Morning Ireland" that the company is "happy to incentivize" workers to identify the oversized luggage and reward them with a fee – which he said could rise as the airline pushes to root out non-compliant baggage.
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O'Leary told the outlet that the airline is "thinking of increasing" the fee so that they "eliminate" oversized luggage as enforcement increases and more passengers run afoul of the rule and change their behavior for future flights.
"We are determined to eliminate the scourge of oversized bags which delay boarding and are clearly unfair on the over 99% of our passengers who comply with our baggage rules," a Ryanair spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement.
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"We do pay commission to agents who identify and charge for oversized bags, but these fees are paid by less than 0.1% of passengers who don't comply with our agreed bags rule," the company's statement continued.