On the latest episode of the Consumer Podcast, host Bill Wirtz sat down with Gary Leff of View from the Wing to unpack a change that will affect nearly every European traveler: the EU’s move to require that all airline tickets include a free carry on bag.
The European Council and Parliament have reached an agreement that would end the practice of charging separately for carry-on luggage, with an option for passengers to take a discount if they choose to travel without one. On its face, this looks like a win for consumers who have been caught off guard by gate fees. But Leff pushed back on the premise. He argued there is little evidence that large numbers of passengers were genuinely confused by these rules, especially given how visible carry-on fees already are during the booking process.
More importantly, Leff explained why airlines charge for carry on bags in the first place. It is not simply about squeezing extra revenue out of passengers. Charging for carry ons discourages the kind of last minute boarding chaos that slows down turnaround times, delays departures, and creates knock on effects across an airline’s schedule, effects that are especially costly in Europe given how tightly air traffic control slots are managed. Low cost airlines like Ryanair and EasyJet built their entire model around aligning passenger incentives with operational efficiency, which is part of how they made European air travel so affordable in the first place.
Leff also raised a subtler concern about how the new rule could distort competition. If legacy carriers such as Air France and Lufthansa already bundle the carry-on into their advertised fare while low cost carriers must now offer a discount for skipping it, the initial price comparison consumers see could actually make the big incumbents look more competitive than they really are. A rule sold as a transparency measure could end up making fare comparisons murkier rather than clearer.
The conversation also covered the confusing state of carry-on sizing. The dimensions agreed upon in the new EU rule are smaller than the sizes many popular luggage brands market as airline compliant, and wheels are often excluded from the published measurements. Travelers who assume their existing bag will qualify may be surprised at the gate.
From there, the discussion moved to compensation claims under EU261, the rule that entitles passengers to payouts of up to 600 euros for certain delays and cancellations. Leff described a booming industry of claims companies that take a cut of payouts, precisely because collecting compensation is often far harder than the marketing suggests. He recounted remarkable stories of bailiffs seizing airline assets, including a case where an airline canceled a flight to avoid having its aircraft impounded over an unpaid claim.
Finally, the two discussed where the airline industry is heading. Leff pointed to consolidation pressures facing smaller carriers, the collapse of Spirit Airlines in the United States as a cautionary tale about undercutting price without matching quality, and the argument that regulatory burden tends to favor large incumbents who can spread compliance costs across more flights and destinations.
Throughout the episode, Leff’s central point was that good intentions in air passenger regulation do not always translate into better outcomes for travelers. Real improvements, he argued, such as a Single European Sky that could cut emissions and delays simultaneously, often receive far less political attention than headline grabbing rules like mandatory carry on bags.