All too often these days, conversations about holiday experiences are prefaced by stories of how travellers felt robbed by additional, often hidden, charges they weren’t expecting. In fact, it’s true to say that it’s impossible to book a cheap flight without incurring one or more of these additional charges.

Money Matters accepts that the airlines involved are entitled to make a profit. But surely it’s better for them to publicise the total cost of a flight, so that we all know what we are buying into? Bring back the days when you could check in a suitcase and take on hold luggage as part of the cost of your flight. For sure, people used to abuse the size of the carry-on baggage and that needed to be stopped, but that could have been achieved by size restrictions, not hidden charges.

Increasing incomes and reducing the enjoyment of passengers

Not content with charging you for baggage, the airlines tried other ways of increasing their incomes and reducing the enjoyment of passengers. The allocation of seats always used to be done at the airport, when the very helpful check-in staff used to do their best to give you seats that enabled couples and families travelling together to sit next to each other. Now, the non-caring ‘do it online’ approach means that you have to pay an additional fee if you want to sit with your family. Legal cases are planned to challenge this practice, and about time too.

Money Matters has no real issue with charging passengers who want extra legroom or for airlines charging for in-flight food and drink. The same goes for WiFi – you’re supposed to be on holiday for goodness sake. If you’re travelling for business then a charge shouldn’t be an issue.

Lawmakers need to get to grips with this practice

But the latest stories about people being charged for printing tickets at the airport just about ‘take the biscuit’. The lawmakers need to get to grips with this practice sooner rather than later and once more make flying off to your holiday part of an enjoyable experience, not an unnecessary modern-day stress.