No-bag fares here to stay

VIRGIN Atlantic’s introduction in March
of the first long-haul no-bag fares in
South Africa has now been followed
by Iberia’s launch of the same product
offering. Agents say that while there
is little to no demand for no-bag fares,
airlines are expected to follow suit in
an attempt to increase revenue through
ancillary sales.
Agents unaware of new no-bag fares
could also be in for a nasty surprise if
they don’t read the fare rules.
David van den Heever-Liebenberg,
travel director of Marmalade Toast
Bespoke Travel and Destination
Management, pointed out that the
difference between IB’s no-bag fare
and an upgrade to the cheapest baginclusive
fare was about R300 on a
Johannesburg-Madrid return ticket.
However, to add bags as an ancillary
afterwards cost R2 344 on the same
routing.
“That is eight times as much for the
same product offering,” said David.
One agent said it was very easy
for agents to overlook the bag policy
when quoting in the GDS and that
consultants would need to add in a
whole new step to confirm baggage
allowance for each quote. “In-flight
meals could easily be on the chopping
block on long-haul routes too,” he
added.
“The airlines are introducing fares
into the market that there is no
demand for,” said Candice May, supply
and product manager of Travelstart.
“Passengers travelling between South
Africa and Europe want to take a bag
with them. I really feel that our market
is far too immature for a product like
this.”
Candice was further frustrated that
although Iberia’s launch notification
was sent to the trade on June 18,
tickets issued the week before already
reflected the no-bag policy.
TNW asked Iberia for comment about
the no-bag fare implementation but no
response was received prior to going
to print.