Gap year students warned over extra airline charges

Gap year students have been warned that they could pay around 40 per cent extra in ancillary charges for flights this year.

A report by the Times stated that extras such as baggage costs, seat reservation and credit card charges can all stack up to put extra pounds on a gap year student's travel bill.

Research for the study, which was carried out by travelsupermarket.com, found that bmibaby's extra charges were 39 per cent of the total cost of the flight, while British Airways' were the most reasonable at 12 per cent.

Second to bmibaby were Ryanair at 33 per cent, while easyjet's total flight cost was made up of 29 per cent of extras.

Gap year students were warned that baggage was the biggest extra cost, with BA allowing one free bag to be checked onto a flight, while Ryanair charged £30.

Travel insurance was also expensive if booked through the airline website, highlighting the need for doing research into this cover.

Gap year students were also told that they should keep an eye on flight news, with British Airways cabin crew planning to go on strike in the near future.

For more information on gap year planning.

( Last Updated: 2010-03-03 15:23:26)