Matthew Lynn Matthew Lynn

In defence of ‘rip-off’ airline charges

Credit: Getty images

The Conservative party is 25 points behind in the polls. Its backbenchers are scrambling around to find new jobs, and the opposition is already making its plans for government. Rishi Sunak’s grip on the premiership is growing more tenuous with every passing day. But, heck, never mind. It turns out the PM has a cunning plan to restore his electoral fortunes.

In the King’s speech tomorrow the government is expected to unveil plans to ban ‘hidden’ charges on air travel. Any of us who have plowed miserably through the expensive minefield of a Ryanair booking will finally have a reason to vote Conservative.

It’s hard to believe that anyone booking that WizzAir flight to Prague genuinely thinks they will pay less than a tenner

But hold on. Sure, the charges are often irritating – but banning them will do more harm than good.

Anyone who has ever made a budget airline booking will know that the ‘drip-feeding’ of charges can be very time consuming, not to mention expensive.

Matthew Lynn
Written by
Matthew Lynn
Matthew Lynn is a financial columnist and author of ‘Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis’ and ‘The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031’

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