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(CNN) – In our latest roundup of travel news: a new unwelcome American visa fee, how airlines fight the “scourge” of excess baggage, plus a guide to packing everything you need in a backpack.
Michael O’Leary, the famously outspoken CEO of Europe’s biggest airline, Ryanair, confirmed Monday that its agents who identify and charge for oversize bags get a bonus of around 1.50 euro a bag (or $1.75).
The airline is “aggressive about eliminating the scourge of passengers with excess baggage,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, and “we’re thinking of increasing” the agent commission.
O’Leary also declared that the European parliament’s recent push for airlines to increase free carry-on baggage allowance has “no chance of passing into law” due to a lack of space on board aircraft.
“We’re flying largely full flights, about half the passengers can bring two bags and the other half can only bring one – because that’s all that fits in the plane,” he said.
O’Leary is the only airline CEO to have commented on agent commissions. However, a leaked email, widely reported by UK outlets after a scoop by the Jersey Evening Post, is said to reveal that staff at several UK airports receive commissions for spotting outsize bags for budget airline easyJet.
When contacted by CNN, airport ground handling company Swissport said, “We serve our airline customers and apply their policies under terms and conditions for managing their operation.”
Easyjet told CNN that its ground handling agents are employed by third parties who manage agent remuneration directly, without oversight by the airline.
“EasyJet is focused on ensuring our ground handling partners apply our policies correctly and consistently in fairness to all our customers,” a spokesperson said.
Meet the voice behind the viral ad campaign taking the internet by storm
A British budget airline has become unexpectedly famous after a years-old advertisement resurfaced as a TikTok meme, with the audio featuring in more than a million videos to date.
The upbeat audio “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday” is being used over footage of vacationers in precarious situations. Voice actor Zoë Lister talked to CNN about becoming a viral sensation.
US low-fare carriers have been in the headlines too, as Southwest Airlines this week announced a start date for assigned seating, bringing its trademark open-seating policy to an end.
If you’re vacationing this summer and want to travel light to avoid budget airline baggage fees, our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have this guide to packing everything you need in a backpack.
In what has been unwelcome news for the US tourism industry, visitors to the United States who require visas to enter will soon need to cough up a new $250 “visa integrity fee.”
The idea is that if everything goes smoothly and the visitor leaves the country on time and without trouble, they’ll get the money back – except that no refund procedure has yet been unveiled.
“No one knows how it’s going to work,” says CNN anchor Richard Quest in this explainer video. With visitor numbers already dropping “because the perception is the United States is not very welcoming at the moment,” many potential arrivals may decide not to come at all, Quest predicts.
The United States has also once again slipped in the Henley Passport Index’s global passport power rankings, and is on the verge of dropping out of the top 10 altogether.
It’s the lowest position ever for the US in the 20-year history of the index, which tracks the number of destinations a nation’s citizens can enter without a visa.
In happier news, Indian and Chinese travelers are hailing the end of the visa freeze between the world’s two most populous nations as diplomatic tensions thaw. Here’s how it’s all working out.
Her boyfriend fell asleep on the train.
Then she spent the six-hour journey talking to her future husband.
Just chill out.
The US debate heats up about European ice-free beverages.
They live in paradise.
But everyday life is more complicated.
