A study in the UK has indicated that checking a bag into the hold and using a credit card could add almost 30 percent onto the advertised price of some 'budget' airline tickets.

Which Holiday compared the prices of four of the UK's largest no-frills airlines on flights to four different destinations. It then looked at the charges incurred on these flights for checking a piece of luggage into the hold and for paying with a credit card. Prices were for a three-night break between 11 and 16 February 2010.

New research from Which? Holiday found that –

• The price of a flight to Paris with BMIBaby increased by around 25 percent when one piece of hold luggage was checked in and the ticket was booked using a credit card, and the price of a flight to Malaga increased by 23 percent.
• Ryanair charges £50 extra across all its routes for checking in a hold bag and paying with a credit card; an increase of between 8 percent and 29 percent on the advertised cost of the fare.
• Although Jet2 were found to add the most to the cost of a flight for the charges - £92.16 – this was an increase of just 10 percent on the advertised ticket price.
• The cost of a ticket on a Ryanair flight between East Midlands airport and Malaga increased by 29.1 percent when a bag was checked into the hold and the ticket was paid for using a credit card. (£121.98 to £171.98)

Rochelle Turner, head of research for Which? Holiday, said it's hard to believe that any airline could justify increasing the ticket price by almost a third just for checking a bag into the hold and paying on a credit card – two services that not too long ago were included in the headline price.

"Airlines argue that they are being fairer to customers who don't use these services. But, in reality, how many people don't use a credit or debit card to pay for their flights, or travel without luggage? These aren't extra services. They are part and parcel of taking a flight," said Turner.

www.eyefortravel.com