With small deviations, Eurowings has copied the hand luggage concept that has been practiced at Ryanair and Wizz Air for some time: passengers who book the basic tariff will no longer be allowed to take the IATA standard size with them, but only a small bag. The change will take effect on August 31, 2021.
Industry circles have known for a long time that Eurowings will copy the hand luggage rules of its competitors Wizz Air and Ryanair. Only the exact time was still open and was possibly postponed due to the corona pandemic. From August 31, 2021, travelers in the basic tariff should only take a small bag with the maximum dimensions 40x30x25 cm with them. For example, if you want to take a trolley with a maximum of 55x40x23 cm and a maximum weight of eight kilograms, you have to pay at least ten euros extra. The pricing is flexible and varies flight by flight. Eurowings did not provide information about the costs that could be incurred directly at the gate.
In the press release, the Lufthansa subsidiary uses a misleading formulation and explains that it would adapt to the "international industry standard". This is not the case, because the international standard is the so-called IATA standard size (55 x 40 x 20 cm). Only a few airlines such as Condor, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Easyjet and others have introduced the “small bag” system and ask you to pay for larger pieces of hand luggage. Since Eurowings has often copied from Ryanair, Easyjet and Wizz Air in the past, the change, which is primarily intended to increase revenue, does not come as a surprise.
Almost congruent with “Priority” from Ryanair and Wizz Air
The “copying” even goes so far that passengers who pay for the larger piece of hand luggage can enjoy priority boarding. Only the name in marketing is different, but the result is identical: a second piece of hand luggage, which can be larger, can be taken against payment and you can also use the priority queue at the gate.
At Eurowings the justification for the hidden price increase is almost identical to that of the competitors Ryanair and Wizz Air some time ago: “The adjustment in the basic tariff should also lead to fewer jams in the hand luggage compartments and thus enable faster boarding and alighting. Surveys show that hand luggage is still one of the main drivers of delays, for example when trolleys have to be loaded into the hold after boarding due to overcrowded luggage bins. The redesigned basic tariff with reduced hand luggage makes a decisive contribution to further accelerating the processes on board ”.
There is also a 12-kilogram check-in suitcase
In view of the state of affairs with the competitors Ryanair and Wizz Air, the assumption that the "priority packages" primarily serve to increase revenues is not so absurd. On many flights there are significantly more passengers who reach into their pockets to take a trolley with them than so-called “non-priorities”. Thus, the claim that this creates more space in the overhead lockers or speeds up boarding and deboarding is rather incorrect. Incidentally, the Lufthansa Group announced a long time ago that it intends to significantly expand additional sales across the group. The change in hand luggage regulations at Eurowings, which does not affect the Smart and Biz tariffs, is ideal for this.
According to its own information, the Lufthansa subsidiary is meeting a major customer request with the planned introduction of a 12-kilogram piece of luggage that has to be checked in at the check-in. Here, too, it shows that you have copied this from the competition and put two kilograms on it. The exact time of the introduction is still open, but this should cost at least ten euros each way. Eurowings is aiming for the introduction “probably by the end of this year”.