Flying between India and North America — which anyway costs a fortune these days due to sky-high airfares — will now get even more expensive.
German mega carrier Lufthansa will permit only one check-in bag of up to 23 kg without extra charge to economy passengers booking tickets starting Monday (Aug 1) to fly between India and North America, halving from the earlier allowance of two bags. Passengers who have booked tickets before till July 31 will not be charged extra on this count.
For those booking now, checking in the second bag will cost Euro 200 if purchased online in advance or Euro 250 for doing so at the check-in counter. So a person booking an economy Delhi-New York or Vancouver-Delhi ticket on Lufthansa will now have to shell out Euro 400 extra for the return trip for checking in the second bag if purchased in advance, or Euro 500 if paying for the second bag at the check-in counter.
Senior EU airline officials say skyrocketing oil prices have forced them to look at maximizing revenue from cargo hold by making passengers pay extra for the second bag and/or leave more space for paid cargo by dissuading many from checking-in two bags. More airlines globally could follow suit.
