Yesterday evening I arrived at the airport in Berlin with my nice little backpack, the same one I had been carrying around for 2 months in 7 (count them, SEVEN) low-cost flights, always as a carry-on, and with absolutely NO PROBLEMS. The bag is pretty small and even fits properly in the box they have at the airport that says "If it fits, take it on board!"
Well, the lady at the counter decided that I couldn't take it on board, and would have to pay, even though the bag WAS in the box! She argued that I couldn't easily put it in the box (which by her description meant in one move, like a nice little suitcase). This is a backpack, so it takes more than one continuous movement to put it into the box, but it fits. She said "I'm not going to argue with you. Will you pay to take your backpack, or will you stay?" I picked up my passport from the counter and left, furious, because NO, I was NOT going to pay.
So I called E. and we started talking about what to do, he went on the Easyjet website to look for their terms and conditions of carriage, and it states clearly that if it fits into the box, you can take it on board. It says nothing about how you manage to put it into the box. Now please, look at the pictures below and tell me if the woman had ANY reason to complain!!!
From one angle...
From another angle...
The backpack is completely in the box, and you can't even see it!
So I took pictures of the backpack in the box, went back to the woman, put my phone in her face and stated that I was recording this conversation, and started to tell her about the terms and conditions of carriage stated on the Easyjet website. She wouldn't even look at me, she told me to go talk to her supervisor. I did, and again, stated that I was recording the conversation and that I had taken pictures of the back inside the box and that if she didn't let me in the plane I would contact Easyjet, customer service, passenger rights and every "proper authority" I could think of to make my rights heard. I guess she decided she couldn't really argue with me, and that if I really was going to make such a big deal, I could take it on board... so the only words she said to me were "ok, you can take it then" and signaled to the check in lady to give me a boarding pass. The lady, having lost her battle, of course, didn't even look at me, just handed me the boarding pass, and I smiled triumphantly at her and said "thank you."
Moral of the story: don't try to cheat me of my rights. I already have so few, that I am damn right going to make them be respected! Low-cost airlines make it cheap to take flights everywhere, it's true, but they've got no right to cheat me and make me pay things I don't owe them.
For all of you friends and travelers out there: don't let them cheat you!!! :)
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