Vancouver travellers looking for a bargain by flying out of Bellingham may be saving slightly less now that discount airline Allegiant is charging for carry-on bags.
Passengers with the low-cost carrier will have to pay as much as $35 for each carry-on larger than a purse, laptop or briefcase for all new reservations beginning Wednesday.
Allison Wallace of Flight Centre Canada says the surcharge is bound to test the limits of travellers who are already resigned to paying extra for meals, movies and checked baggage on discount flights.
"Allegiant Air is known as one of the absolute no-frill, low-cost carriers, more so than a WestJet or a Southwest, so there is an expectation that you're not going to get a lot, but a carry-on might be pushing it," she said.
Even with the extra charge, the trip down to Washington State to catch a plane still comes at a considerable discount. CTV News compared prices for trips to Las Vegas leaving on April 13, and found tickets for as low as $134.80 on Allegiant out of Bellingham. Even with the maximum $35 surcharge for a carry-on, that's still considerably lower than the minimum $312.71 WestJet is charging for a flight out of Vancouver.
Allegiant is the second U.S. carrier to charge for carry-on bags after Spirit Airlines.
North of the border, WestJet has already said it is watching consumer reaction to the surcharge. Discount airlines across the continent are looking for any non-fare revenue they can find, and there's been talk in the industry of charging more for aisle and window seats.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger
