Well, after the good news about Monarch Airlines scrapping booking fees for debit cards - Good airline news! - comes the realisation that the same airline is ripping us off over baggage charges.

A close look at the Monarch website reveals that the budget airline's checked luggage policy is as follows:

"How much baggage are you checking in?
Pre-book your hold bags now and save up to 40% on the airport price! Total hold baggage allowance is 20kg per person (plus 10kg for any infants), regardless of number of bags purchased. These charges are non-refundable.

NEW - you can also add extra kilos to your hold bags online and save up to 25% on the airport price. Excess baggage can only be selected by passengers who have purchased at least one hold bag, and no single hold bag must exceed 32kg in weight. These charges are non-refundable."

When you delve further you learn that 1 bag up to 20 kg costs £14.99; 21 kg is £22.99; 22 kg is £29.99; up to 32 kg is an astounding £104.99. These are for pre-booked luggage. I dread to think what the excess baggage charges are if your bag is found to be overweight at check-in.

My conclusion, therefore, is that despite pretending to be otherwise over debit and credit card charges, Monarch are charlatans just like the rest of the low-cost airlines.

© Paul Whitelock

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Tags:  Monarch Airlines, Monarch, debit card, booking fee, budget airline, low-cost airline, paul whitelock, www.a1-solutions-spain.com