Boycott Aer Lingus' anti business travel policy

Aer Lingus has declared war on business travellers. They’ve introduced new hand-baggage restrictions which make it virtually impossible to avoid checking-in your bag. So what, you might ask? Forget the added cost for a minute, there’s the sheer inconvenience of having to wait in some draughty baggage hall at both ends of your journey while the baggage mis-handlers delay/damage/steal your possessions (delete as appropriate).

Lots of airlines charge for checked-in baggage. That’s not the issue. The problem is the ridiculously low weight restrictions Aer Lingus has imposed. A quick comparison of various airlines ( including airlines serving European routes outside Ireland) shows Aer Lingus now has the most restrictive hand-baggage weight limits in Europe. What sort of customer service is this?

Imagine you’re frequent traveller on business to London, Paris or Brussels for a few nights, a common event. You pack your bag with some overnight things, a few changes of clothes, some files, a laptop and a few other items. It requires experience and skill to keep this all down to about 8-9 kilos. Believe me. I know. I’ve been doing it for years. Like most frequent business travellers, I use a wheelie bag smaller than the permitted dimensions so as to avoid having to wait at the baggage carousel when I arrive. Ryanair allows a single piece of hand-luggage up to 10 Kilos. BMI and British Airways impose the standard size limit but have no formal weight restriction for hand-luggage ( a common practice among European scheduled carriers and low-cost airlines alike). Aer Lingus has imposed a draconian limit of 6Kilos above which baggage must be checked-in and paid for, regardless of size.

I have not been able to find another European airline with such a restrictive weight allowance and most come nowhere near it!

Even if you accept the added expense there is the inconvenience of having to wait in the baggage hall at both ends of your journey and the worry that fragile and important items such as laptops i-pods etc might be damaged or pilfered. I recently had the experience of having a case emerge literally “shredded” off a trans-Atlantic flight so this is a very real concern.

Business travellers are generally pretty tired of the constant searches and harassment, the delays and inefficiency which are now part of the travelling experience. Now we are to have more delay and more expense courtesy of Aer Lingus. I think not. It’s time business travellers fought back. There’s no point in complaining to the airline. They couldn’t care less. Hit them where it hurts. Boycott Aer Lingus until they remove these crazy anti-business restrictions on carry-on luggage.

Tell them where to stuff their draconian limits and take your business elsewhere. Even if only a small percentage of frequent travellers switch their business to less customer-unfriendly organisations we can send Aer Lingus a powerful message. Stuff your hand baggage limits and stuff your airline while you’re at it!