Luggage is the single biggest extra fee levied by the airlines. Here Alicante Holiday Villas offers advice on avoiding additional airline charges when flying to Alicante.
How To Avoid Additional Airline Charges When Flying To Alicante
A family of four flying to Alicante with Ryanair in the summer, taking one case each, could pay up to £320 extra for a return flight. With careful planning it is possible to greatly reduce this cost. Check your airlines rules when flying to your holiday villa or apartment in Alicante about hand luggage sizes and weight restrictions. Most allow a maximum of 10kg per person (Thomson 5kg, Easyjet unlimited) carried within a bag that meets certain dimensions. For a family of 4 that’s 40kg or 88lbs, a sizeable amount. Pack as much as you can into your hand luggage, ensuring you meet security rules regarding liquids, and you will find that you won’t all need to take suitcases, perhaps only one or two, saving a considerable amount which is better spent on your holiday in Alicante.
How To Avoid Additional Airline Charges When Flying To Alicante
Payment fees are different from airline to airline. There is no option but to pay with plastic. Credit cards attract a greater fee, up to £6 per person per leg of journey with Ryanair so our family of 4 flying to their holiday villa in Alicante will be parting with £48. Easyjet for example charge £8 per booking using a debit card and £12.95 with a credit card. There are ways to reduce or even eliminate this cost altogether. Most airlines offer the facility to pay with a Visa Electron card with no charge. This is a simple debit card which is linked to a current account without an overdraft facility. Some airlines offer no fees with a pre-paid Mastercard. With Ryanair the only way to avoid the booking fee is to use their own pre-paid Mastercard but beware of any charges levied by the card issuer.
How To Avoid Additional Airline Charges When Flying To Alicante
Another pitfall is the charge for checking in online. Ryanair now charge £6 per person per flight to check in online however this fee is not payable on Ryanair’s cheapest promotional fares so search these out first. Easyjet currently don’t charge for online or airport check in although others do. Jet2 for example charge £1 per person to check in online with hand luggage and £6 per person with hold luggage. bmibaby and Wizz Air charge for checking in at the airport so opt for online check in to avoid this charge. If you do check in online when flying to Alicante remember to print off and take your boarding cards, Ryanair charge £40 per person if you forget.
How To Avoid Additional Airline Charges When Flying To Alicante
A number of airlines offer priority boarding, for an extra charge. The benefits of this service are doubtful so don’t opt for this service when flying to Alicante. Some airlines allow you to pre-book your seat, at a cost. This can be up to £15 for an emergency exit seat so unless you absolutely have to all sit together don’t take up this option.
How To Avoid Additional Airline Charges When Flying To Alicante
Always make sure than when booking online you have selected the correct flights to Alicante and that the names of all passengers have been entered correctly and match the respective passport. The cost for making changes can be painful, anywhere between £25 and £150.
How To Avoid Additional Airline Charges When Flying To Alicante
Buying food and drink onboard the aircraft en route to Alicante can be expensive so check your airline’s rules about taking your own food onboard. Remember that you won’t be able to take any drinks through security in excess of 100ml and will have to buy these airside before flying to Alicante.
How To Avoid Additional Airline Charges When Flying To Alicante
Always read the small print, check that your luggage does not exceed the weight allowance you have paid for, make sure your hand luggage is of the correct size and weight, that the names on your tickets and or boarding cards match exactly your passports and that you have your passports and boarding cards before you set off for the airport. Just taking your time over booking your flight to Alicante and extras ensures you save money and time at the airport. If you understand the rules then you won’t have a problem!
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