23rd April: 2010: Aer Arann has announced changes to its baggage policy in response to customer feedback and passenger trends. These changes will come into effect for all bookings made from Tuesday 27th April 2010. There will be no change to bookings made before this date.

Currently Aer Arann allows a free baggage allowance of 15kgs per passenger and this is very popular on domestic routes where passengers tend to carry less baggage. However feedback from customers has been that the 15kgs allowance is low compared with the 20kgs industry standard on flights to the UK and France where passengers tend to spend more time away.

Aer Arann believes that passengers would prefer a full 20Kg allowance with one simple bag fee rather than a lower allowance and the potential for excess baggage charges on international routes. However the airline feels that domestic passengers are happy with a lower free allowance as trips away tend to be shorter.

From Tuesday April 27th Aer Arann baggage policy will be:

• All Flights – Cabin baggage allowance 7Kgs. FREE. Cabin bags must comply with size restrictions.

• Domestic Flights – Checked baggage allowance 15Kgs. FREE. Domestic flights include all flights within the island of Ireland
• UK and France Flights – Checked baggage allowance 20Kgs. New charge per bag €8 or £8 if booked online or through the Aer Arann call centre. Checked baggage booked on arrival at the departure airport will incur a fee of €12/£12 per bag per flight.
• Isle of Man / London City Route – Checked baggage allowance 20Kgs. FREE. No change to policy.
• Domestic Connecting Baggage – For domestic passengers connecting to or from international carriers, Aer Arann will continue to honour the baggage allowance of their connecting airline provided they present their onward itinerary at check-in. FREE.
• A fee of €7/£7 per kilo will be charged to all luggage exceeding the new luggage allowance on all flights. This is lower than the industry standard.

The change in Aer Arann’s baggage allowances follows a review of passenger demand which found that customers flying on UK and French routes were travelling for longer periods and requesting greater allowances for checked-in luggage. A 20kg allowance suits the passenger demographic on these routes and the necessary charge fee, although lower than that of many other airlines, is a standard industry norm for a 20kg allowance.

“We found that while passengers appreciated the free baggage allowance they wanted a larger 20Kgs allowance on international flights”, said Aer Arann Director of Corporate Affairs, Andrew Kelly. “Prior to this change in policy a passenger with a 20Kg bag would have been liable for excess baggage charges of €40 and actually received no benefit from our free baggage allowance. Under the new policy passengers can now carry the allowance of 20Kgs for one simple per bag charge of €8 or £8”.

“It was also clear to us that domestic passengers tend to be on shorter business trips or weekends away and the 15Kgs allowance was all they needed and so we have left this free baggage allowance in place. But for domestic passengers connecting, for example, from Galway to our flights of our partner airlines Aer Lingus or Etihad Airways from Dublin we will continue to match their full onward baggage allowance free of charge”, he continued.

Aer Arann customers will also continue to enjoy Aer Arann’s competitive fares and great value offerings included the following additional benefits:

• Free Airport Check In
• Free Online Check In
• Free Allocated Seating
• Domestic Fast Track access through departure security at Dublin airport
• Domestic Fast Track access through Passport control on arrival at Dublin Airport (exclusive to Aer Arann)

Information regarding Aer Arann Fees from April 27th:

Aer Arann also wishes to advise customers of changes to its terms & conditions in relation to fees and charges for flight bookings. From April 20th the following will apply:

• Changes to flight bookings including route changes, missed flights, time or date changes will be charged at €35/£35 or €50/£50 if the change is made at the departure airport
• Name changes will incur a fee of €100/£100
• Excess baggage fees will be charged at €7/£7 per kilo
• The carriage of pets will incur a fee of €30/£30 each way
• Infants (Children under 2 years of age) will be charged a set fare of €20 each way on all flights, all routes.
• Sports equipment (including bikes, golf bags, fishing rods etc) will be charged at €30/340 if booked in advance or €40/ £40 if booked at the departure airport
• Aer Arann Travel manager bookings will be charged €5/£5 per booking
• Passengers opting for SMS itineraries will be charged €1/£1 per SMS

Read more http://aerarannblog.com/news/aer-arann-announce-changes-to-baggage-policy-and-fees