What are the hidden fees charged by airlines?

To identify the airlines with the highest fees for everything from baggage to rescue fees, the team at TradingPedia analysed the charges imposed by seven major European airlines by booking one-way flights from London to Madrid in July.

These costs are often not included in the base fare, but are commonly added during the booking process.

One fee travellers cannot escape is the so-called rescue fee, a charge levied by airlines to transfer a passenger to the next available flight after they have missed their original flight. Data shows that easyJet charges the highest rescue fee of €131.16 among the seven European airlines analysed, followed closely by Vueling and Ryanair.

Here are a few key takeaways from the report:

EasyJet charges the highest rescue fee for missed flights at €131.16 on average, followed by Vueling with €121.95, and Ryanair with €119.24.
Wizzair and Jet2 have significantly lower fees at €81.13 and €32.19, respectively.
The other two airlines in our research, Norwegian and British Airways, also charge rescue fees, but their amounts are not clearly stated. Sometimes, passengers must cancel and rebook at current prices.
When it comes to all additional fees combined, Wizz Air tops the list, charging €247.94 for optional but sometimes unavoidable costs such as checked baggage, online booking, and rescue fees.
In contrast, British Airways has the lowest additional fees at €76.31 on average, suggesting greater transparency in charging for extra services. It does not charge for carry-on baggage, online booking, or check-in, and there is no clearly disclosed fee for missed flights.

The report looks into seven widely popular airlines across Europe, namely British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Norwegian, Ryanair, Vueling, and Wizz Air. The team sourced data from their official websites, but the majority of the fees included in the calculations are based on bookings for one-way flights on 21 July, a high season for travel, from London to several destinations in Europe (Madrid, Rome, Amsterdam, and Athens). Researchers chose flight dates in late July (during high season) but on weekdays since these are typically cheaper. They also picked the most affordable fares where no additional services were included.