I was fined £144 by easyJet after my luggage was ‘too big’ – despite it fitting on nine flights before
A DAD has slammed easyJet after he was charged £144 for his hand luggage - despite it fitting on nine previous flights.
Nick Proctor had booked a £4,000 all-inclusive holiday to Rhodes with his wife and two children, travelling from Bristol Airport last month.
Despite passing through the airline check in desk, it was only when the 44-year-old got to the gate that his bags were found to be too big.
Nick, from Reading, said: "We took four bags on the plane, all with the intention of them going on the plane whether they went under the seat or in the overhead locker.
"I'm a travel writer so I fly frequently and have used these bags on nine other occasions before and never had this issue.
"We got stopped at the boarding gate where we could literally see the plane [we were going to board].
Read more on baggage
"The wheels were one centimetre too big to fit in the checker.
"They were really strict and because the bag didn't go in the sizer, that was it. We had to pay, there was no other option."
They were forced to pay £48 per bag, which was £144 in total.
As a frequent flyer, the dad-of-two says he has taken the same cases onboard nine previous easyJet flights as cabin bags and had no issues with them fitting the dimensions.
Most read in News Travel
But Nick claims easyJet has modified their luggage checker by adding metal sides which means the wheels on his case are now one centimetre too big to fit the dimensions.
Nick continued: "The bag checker used to be a cage so it fit in but this time when we put the bags in the sizer they had a metal inlay inserted into it so there was no wiggle room.
"Maybe that is new but the main point is that these bags have always been fine and have been on lots of easyJet flights.
"I was upset and angry and I had told them that I had taken these bags on easyJet flights over the last decade."
Nick then said he spent the rest of his holiday worrying about having to pay the fee again when he had to bring the suitcases home - but were then not hit with the charge on their flight from Rhodes to Bristol.
Nick said: "We tried to enjoy our holiday but there was always this niggly feeling about what to do on our journey home and there was a bit of tension between me and my wife.
"We thought about taking carrier bags on the flight home and looking like tramps or should we risk it and try and take them on.
"It took the edge off the holiday and it didn't need to."
He slammed the airline's 'inconsistent rules' and has vowed never to fly with the budget airline again if he isn't refunded.
Nick said: "If I don't receive my refund I won't be flying easyJet again, just out of principle."
EasyJet said customers are informed of the baggage size allowance when booking and Nick's were not within these guidelines on this occasion.
They also claimed their bag sizers are 'universal' and haven't changed.
An easyJet spokesperson said: "We clearly inform customers of their bag allowance and bag dimensions when booking, via email before they travel and it is also clearly displayed on boarding passes.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"Unfortunately Mr Proctor's bags on this occasion were not within the allowance he had booked and so in line with our policy and in fairness to other customers who book to bring larger bags they were asked to pay for these at the airport.
"We are also contacting Mr Proctor to understand more about his experience."
