EasyJet is to charge passengers to check in all baggage, in line with rival carriers.

The airline has previously allowed passengers to check one bag for free, with a £5 charge to check in a second, but from October 1 will demand £5 for each item of hold luggage. The price drops to £2 if the bag is registered at the time of booking.

Easyjet says the move is intended to encourage people to check-in fewer bags, and claims that reducing the weight of aircraft means lower carbon dioxide emissions. While the carrier says it has not anticipated the impact of the new bag charges on profits, it was recently reported that rivals Ryanair are expected to make £92m profit from baggage check-in charges this year. When Ryanair introduced its charges in March 2006, it too insisted that they were to deter passengers from checking baggage, not to generate profits.

The only way for easyJet passengers to avoid the fees is to fit their belongings into a bag measuring no more than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, regardless of weight, which can be carried onboard for free.

EasyJet‘s weight limit for checked baggage will remain at 20kg per passenger and excess baggage charges of £6 per kg still apply. In addition, easyJet's charge for transporting sporting goods such as skis and mountain bikes remains at £15 per flight if pre-booked, or £20 at the airport. Customers who have already booked flights departing after October 1, will not pay the new fees.

The first no-frills airline to introduce baggage charges was Flybe in February 2006, with a charge of £4 per item, which has since increased to £7, or £4 if customers register the bag when booking their flight.

Nobody was surprised when Ryanair followed suit with a £5 bag charge, reduced to £2.50 for passengers who register their bags in advance.

But it was British Airways that made waves in February, with its one bag rule for economy class passengers. For carriage of a second checked bag the airline now charges £30 per bag on domestic flights, £60 on short haul flights and £120 on long haul flights, which drop to £21, £42 and £84, if paid online before arrival at the airport.

The practice isn’t new - the US no-frills carrier People Express, which served domestic and transatlantic routes in the 1980s, introduced charges for checked baggage over 20 years ago.

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