That'll be €10

A survey by flight booking site, Skyscanner, found travellers saying a resounding no to a surcharge on hand luggage. This follows the start of a trial by Wizz Air to charge passengers for large pieces of hand luggage. 

88% of people responding to the survey said that they would choose another airline rather than pay the surcharge with 64% saying the new charge was unfair.

Speaking about the results, Sam Poullain from Skyscanner said: "Travellers now accept that some airlines charge for hold luggage. However an additional charge for hand baggage is a step too far for some."

The move was made by the airline to improve the boarding process for customers. With fewer people needing to place their luggage in the overhead compartments, the airline believe that the whole process would be more efficient as smaller bags can fit more easily underneath the seat in front of a passenger. The €10 charge for a large piece of hand luggage is just €10 euros less than being able to place a bigger piece of luggage into the hold (€20 for flights less than one hour and 50 minutes and €25 euros for longer journeys). As for me, I'm a pretty good light packer but if I needed to pay the charge and the flight plus add-ons was still cheaper than with other airlines I'd still book… The trial applies to flights between London and Katowice in Poland in August.

Other budget airlines will be keeping a close eye on progress. In the meantime, easyJet have said that they have no plans to follow suit. Ryanair have so far refused to comment.

Want to carry more at no extra charge?

Earlier, we looked at a novel way to carry more stuff on board... read about it here.