Air passengers travelling this Christmas will probably be laden with presents but charges for excess baggage vary among the airlines.
Ryanair's allowance for luggage weight is 15 kilos, and any excess is charged at €6 (£4.73) per kilo. This charge applies on all routes, a spokeswoman said. She claimed that only 2 per cent of passengers had to pay the excess baggage charge out of nine million travelling this year. She defended criticisms from some passengers that the charges were excessive.
"We offer low fares and at the time of booking . . . passengers are informed of the excess baggage rate."
The charges at Aer Lingus vary according to the route as they are based on a percentage of fares.
Out of the State to Britain, the excess baggage allowance is 20 kilos per person in economy class and 30 kilos in business class. Excess charges vary. For example, from Dublin to Birmingham or Bristol the excess is charged at £2.83 (€3.59) per kilo; to London - Stansted or Heathrow - it is £3.48 (€4.42). The further the flight the higher the rates for excess baggage.
For British Midlands, the excess baggage charge is based on 1.5 per cent of the standard business fare but applies to all passengers. A spokesperson said the rate per extra kilo worked out at €3.60 per kilo from Dublin to Heathrow.