European lawmakers may think they are helping passengers by requiring airfares displayed by default to include a full-size carry-on bag, but this strikes me as a consumer protection that risks making travel needlessly more expensive for many travelers.
Europe Goes Too Far With New Carry-On Bag Rules
The European Union is moving forward with a broad overhaul of air passenger rights, and some of the changes are genuinely welcome, as I discussed earlier this week. Keeping the three-hour threshold for delay compensation is good, and making it easier to claim is even better.
> Read More: European Union Moves To Strengthen EU261 Flight Compensation, Not Gut It
Requiring clearer disclosure of baggage fees is good, but Europe’s new approach to carry-on baggage goes too far.
Under the new framework, airfares displayed by default would need to include an allowance for hand baggage. Airlines could still offer passengers a lower final fare for giving up that larger carry-on bag, but the starting point would change:
To create price transparency, air fares including allowance for a piece of hand baggage shall be displayed by default before the start of any booking process to facilitate fare comparisons between airlines.
That may sound consumer-friendly. Who does not like “free” baggage?
But it actually obscures how many people have learned to travel in order to save money.
Transparency Is Good, Bundling Is Not
There is a very good argument that airlines should be required to clearly disclose baggage fees upfront. I’ve long advocated for all-in pricing on Live And Let’s Fly. But by that I mean the entire cost of the fare plus taxes and fees, not the cost of adding ancillary items, like a large carry-on bag, that are no longer deemed essential by a wide swath of travelers.
A fare should not look cheap on the first screen, then suddenly jump in cost due to fees that cannot be avoided, like for a personal item or to check in online. Fundamentally, consumers should be able to compare the real cost of travel, not play a game of hide-and-seek with airline fees. But transparency is different from forcing a default bundle.
Many travelers in Europe have adapted to the low-cost carrier model. They know how to travel with a small backpack and understand that a basic fare means a personal item only. If they want the cheapest fare possible, they have to pack light. Why should those passengers be forced into a higher starting fare because lawmakers think everyone needs an overhead bin bag?
Some have tried to downplay this and argue that nothing is really changing because airlines can still offer an opt-out or because the rules are really about disclosure. I do not buy that. If the default fare must include more baggage, that is a huge change and I expect many carriers, much to the delight of carriers like Ryanair, despite all its protestations, will cash in (I discuss this more below).
If a larger carry-on must be included in the standard fare, then the base fare goes up, even if some theoretical stripped-down option remains somewhere else in the booking flow.
Believe me, I am not defending every airline fee. European low-cost carriers have turned the fee game into an art form, and some of it is absurd, like absurd change fees or even last-minute carry-on fees that far exceed the cost of the ticket. But the solution is not to obscure competition by offering a default that is no longer relevant in 2026.
Faux Outrage From Ryanair
Finally, I cannot help but pull out my tiny violin for Ryanair. CEO Michael O’Leary is outraged about this change:
“These latest EU261 regs are more bureaucratic bunkum from the EU Parliament and Council. Instead of encouraging EU airlines to advertise our lowest fares (which exclude 2nd cabin bags), which is what over 50% of our customers choose, these new rubbish regulations require airlines to falsely advertise higher air fares, making EU airlines even less competitive.”
“As usual, neither the EU Parliament, nor the Council, have done anything to improve the competitiveness of EU airlines by abolishing Europe’s failed harmful ETS taxation or reforming the EU’s broken ATC system. Europe’s ATC system accounts for over 90% of airline delays, yet the airlines are not allowed to recover our EU261 costs from these failing Govt monopolies.”
“At a time when Putin invaded Ukraine, and there is a war in the Middle East, Europe needs to be more competitive if it is to deliver growth. At this time of international crisis, all the EU Parliament and Council can do is invent new regulations, which will now force airlines to advertise higher air fares (which include 2nd cabin bag fees) instead of advertising our lowest air fares (which exclude 2nd cabin bag fees) which is what more than 50% of Ryanair passengers choose on a daily basis. When Europe needs economic growth to improve its defence spending, the best our leaders can manage is new regulations about airline cabin bags, which deny airlines the right to advertise our lowest available air fares.”
“Ryanair again calls on Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU Parliament, to stop making rubbish regulations which makes EU air travel less competitive, and instead do something competitive for European consumers by abolishing Europe’s discriminatory ETS tax (which only applies to intra-EU flights) and finally deliver effective ATC reform by requiring that ATCs are fully staffed for first wave of morning flights, and protecting EU overflights during national ATC strikes.”
As I mentioned above, it is not surprising that Ryanair is crying foul, but it also stands to gain a lot of ancillary revenue from this if consumers simply book the “default” option and don’t remove the larger carry-on item for a “discount.” I actually think consumers will lose and Ryanair will come out ahead.
CONCLUSION
Europe is right to demand clearer airline pricing and stronger passenger protections. Travelers should know exactly what is included before they buy a ticket, and airlines should not be allowed to spring surprise baggage charges late in the booking process. But requiring a larger carry-on bag to be included by default goes too far.
Many travelers have learned to travel light. Instead of defaulting to travel with baggage, the better rule would be simple: disclose every baggage fee clearly and upfront, then let passengers choose what they actually need.
At the core: consumer protection should mean transparency, not mandatory default bundling.
image: Ryanair
I am less inclined to agree with you, having thought about this more.
Many legacy carriers, by default, include a cabin bag (Iberia and BA do) so, when searching on a comparator sight like Skyscanner, there are benefits in being able to quickly compare like with like.
As long as the opt-out is prominent, I really don’t see an issue here.
As a European who lived in the States, I respectfully disagree with your opinion.
You guys are so used to a cut throat market environment that you think not knowing the final price going in when purchasing anything is normal… (to the point you literally never know how much something in a store will cost you because, really, who can do the mental arithmetic to know much an item will cost including sales tax?)
Europe (and most of the rest of the work) has a different approach: you should know exactly how much you’re gonna pay, and everything should be comparable, for an informed decision.
This new rule does just that, and forces airfares on the same route to be comparable too, adding the luggage just took the maximalist approach as it will also level the playing field re. personal item and dimension.
And yes, it will probably favour the least savvy and less often travelled portion of the population, but that’s what customer protection is for.
And to all the nay sayers that have already lobbied against other comparable measures in other industries (on-line shopping rules come to mind), a few years down the road guess what: prices are roughly the same both sides of the Atlantic, while one side has protection and the other has almost none 😉
Idiots on the left seem incapable of recognizing the “big picture,” thus tweeking one thing thinking it has no consequences. Unfortunately, these are the idiot put in charge of the EU (and sadly most Amerucan cities of size). The Ryanair reaction is typically overblown, but not lacking validity.
The EU — and the EC in particular — is already dominated by politicians to the right of the center.
I welcome the possible EU/EEA requirement to bundle in cabin baggage allowance in primary fare displays. It will make air travel cost comparison much easier/faster for me for trips that are cabin baggage only.
While I am sure airlines will try to hike up fares/prices anyway, it’s in their nature to do so even without this potential EU/EEA requirement.