Aeroflot extended baggage-free fares to all short- and medium-haul routes on June 4, both its own and those of its subsidiaries Rossiya and Aurora. As expected, in most cases, the savings for passengers purchasing such tickets were insignificant. However, those carrying baggage will pay significantly more, reports a Travel.ru correspondent.
The new baggage-free fare is called "Light." It applies to all routes except long-haul flights (to the Far East, East Asia, and the Americas), fixed-fare routes (from Moscow to Simferopol and Kaliningrad), and routes from Moscow to Rostov-on-Don and Kazan (the latter due to FAS regulations). The cost of adding baggage to the baggage-free fare on domestic routes is 2,000 rubles each way. A second piece of checked baggage also costs 2,000 rubles. On international routes, the first and second pieces of baggage cost 40 euros each, or 2,900 rubles.
It's known that adding baggage at the airport will cost more than adding it in advance on the company's website before checking in. It's obviously impossible to add baggage during or after online check-in (but you can cancel your previous online check-in, add baggage, and then check in again). However, this purchase only covers the standard 23-kilogram baggage allowance. Any excess will result in a minimum additional charge of 3,000 rubles at the airport. If you purchased additional baggage and then decide to fly with carry-on baggage only, you can get a refund for the baggage (but not the difference between the baggage and carry-on fares). Furthermore, passengers traveling together cannot combine the purchased baggage allowance with the baggage allowance originally included in the fare.
In most cases, it will be cheaper for passengers wishing to carry baggage to purchase a baggage-only fare rather than adding bags to their baggage-free fare. However, there are exceptions to this rule—passengers should carefully compare fares and calculate the cost for each option. Members of Aeroflot Bonus elite tiers and other SkyTeam loyalty programs will be able to carry one piece of checked baggage free of charge, even on baggage-only fares.
The "Light" fare has replaced the previous "Budget" fare group. Among other things, this means that non-refundable baggage fees will no longer apply on the routes where this change occurred. Any ticket that includes baggage can be checked. However, any ticket without baggage will be non-refundable, even if the passenger subsequently purchases baggage.
Aeroflot's free ski equipment allowance (and, on some routes, diving equipment) will likely not apply to baggage-free fares. At least, this is the typical solution for most airlines that offer baggage-free fares but also offer free ski and snowboard transportation.
Previously, all other major Russian and many foreign carriers had introduced baggage-free fares. This made it somewhat difficult for Aeroflot to compete on price, while including baggage in every ticket. When searching for tickets through agents or on aggregator websites, Aeroflot often appeared at the bottom of the list, sorted by ascending price.
This innovation will allow Aeroflot to slightly reduce its minimum fare (by removing the baggage allowance) and thereby better compete with other carriers on price. At the same time, as the experience of virtually all airlines shows, introducing baggage-free fares inevitably leads to an increase in the minimum baggage allowance—and this increase is often much greater than the reduction in the minimum fare. In other words, flying becomes significantly more expensive on average (though sometimes cheaper for individual passengers).
Aeroflot's entry into the baggage-free fare race will significantly change the pricing situation on both domestic routes and some international routes. Among other things, at least on many domestic routes, there's a risk of a return to the cartel-like situation of approximately three to six years ago. Back then, as we recall, on most domestic routes, the minimum prices of almost all carriers were identical down to the ruble (and Aeroflot's pricing moves were immediately copied by all competitors). The situation changed three years ago, when Siberia Airlines, and subsequently many other airlines, began offering baggage-free fares. As a result, everyone's product went from being identical to the previous one, and their prices also diverged. Now that baggage-free fares will be available everywhere, there's a risk of a return to a similar situation of equally high fares that no longer include baggage.
Source: travel.ru
