Families who book holiday flights on the phone face a penalty of £ 20

Families who book holiday flights over the phone rather than online are subject to a penalty of up to £ 20.

The scam suggests that airlines are looking for new ways to snatch money from their customers after a crackdown on scam fees related to credit card booking or of debt.

Telephone booking fees are just one charge among others who can add hundreds of pounds to the cost of summer flights for a family of 4.

The consumer experts to whom? discovered that a phone reservation with Ryanair or Tui, formerly known as Thomson, entailed a charge of £ 20 on the same flights online.

The airline EasyJet adds an additional £ 15 for a telephone reservation and British Airways

Fees apply to all flights, regardless of the destination, and if a customer makes the booking in s & # 39; addressing an operator or using the airline's website.

Jet2 was the only airline did not charge their additional customers for booking by phone.

The editor of Which? Travel, Rory Boland, said: "All customers are not comfortable to book online, and they should not be penalized for booking by phone. Airlines that charge more to customers must be clear and transparent about these additional charges.

BA and Tui stated that this fee represented additional administrative and staffing costs badociated with telephone bookings, while Ryanair reported less than 0.5% of its rates. customers book by phone.

Easyjet said: "We encourage pbadengers to book online.One who use our phone service are informed of the online discount at the beginning of the call."

He also stated that pbadengers needing special badistance can always receive the price online by phone. The surcharge adds to other charges applied by airlines, such as pbadengers can be charged up to £ 16 to take their place. People who choose to put a suitcase in the cargo hold can pay up to £ 38 for something under 20 kilograms, while exceeding the weight allowance of the equivalent of 39. a bag of sugar can result in a charge of £ 12.

At least one airline now even charges customers a fee of £ 1.75 each way to take carry-on luggage in the cabin.

A separate survey of FairFX foreign currency experts' airline costs found that flight costs can go up once all add-ons are taken into account. 19659002] A spokesman said: "While many airlines will give you a free seat for your trip, if you travel with your family, your young children, your friends or a partner, the only way to guarantee you is to pay additional charges for res "

FairFX stated that each airline imposing its own costs and rules for baggage holdings became confusing and costly. For example, Ryanair, Tui and Thomas Cook have a limit of 20 kg per bag, but fees range from £ 23 to £ 38. BA, EasyJet and Flybe have an upper limit of 23 kg and fees range from £ 20 to £ 31. The limit to Jet2 is 22kg and there is a charge of £ 22.

Most short-haul travelers have gone to take only hand luggage to avoid these charges, but even that is no longer guaranteed. Last summer, Jet2 introduced "Guaranteed Hand Luggage", charging pbadengers £ 1.75 to ensure that their carry-on baggage is not in the hold.

Ian Strafford-Taylor, Director of FairFX, said "Families" and warned them to be aware of the various additions, which could soon see the cost of their "rocket" vacation.