Mexico’s Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) says Mexican airlines will face legal action if they continue to violate the law and charge clients for hand luggage.
Aeroméxico, VivaAerobús and Volaris are “engaging in abusive commercial practices,” Profeco chief Ricardo Sheffield Padilla said this week. “For about 60 or 90 days, all these airlines have unilaterally and illegally decided that the base fare does not include hand luggage,” he said.
Sheffield said that hand luggage is an essential element of air transport and that companies are obliged to carry it without demanding any type of extra charge on top of the price of the ticket.
Sheffield said that article 47 Bis, section IX, third paragraph of the Civil Aviation Law establishes that “... the passenger may carry up to two pieces of hand luggage in the cabin. The dimensions of each one will be up to 55 centimeters long by 40 centimeters wide by 25 centimeters high, and the weight of both should not exceed ten kilograms.”
Sheffield said the three airlines are also guilty of misleading advertising, by announcing “cheap” fares that do not include hand luggage, but just one personal item that can fit under the seat.
For example, VivaAerobus’ cheapest of four price options is the “Zero” category that includes one personal item measuring 20x35x45 centimeters. Ticket prices for the next highest category, “Light,” which includes a 10-kilogram carry-on bag and one personal item, increase by an average of around 35 percent.