Wizz Air, the largest low-cost, low-fare airline in Central and Eastern Europe, proceeded with its new cabin baggage policy trial on August 1, 2012 on routes between Katowice (Poland) and London-Luton (UK). The trial continues for one month or until results are conclusive but initial feedback is already promising.
Amongst passengers who booked after the 9 July announcement, 10% purchased the large cabin bag allowance online on wizzair.com for €10. A small number of passengers arrived at the airport having not paid the online fee for their large cabin bag and needed to pay the higher price on the spot. Those who paid for a large cabin bag took advantage of early boarding ahead of passengers with a small cabin bag and experienced no issues placing their baggage in the overhead compartment. Since the 1 August start date, no delays as a result of the need to offload an excess of large cabin bags have been reported.
The prevailing trend shows that passengers clearly prefer to travel light and bring the free small cabin bag onboard, which saves them money and translates into fuel cost savings for the airline.
“Wizz Air passengers on this trial route now have the choice of which cabin bag to bring onboard and can fully customize their travel experience. No matter their choice, all passengers benefit from a friendlier boarding experience and Wizz Air’s everyday low fares. We continue to urge passengers to purchase the large cabin bag allowance online for €10 as we are strict in enforcing the increased fee at the airport if a bag does not meet the size and weight requirements. In light of the positive feedback we have received in the first days of the trial, we have already begun to consider the full rollout of this new policy across our network,” - said Daniel De Carvalho, Corporate Communications Manager, Wizz Air.
