Traditional airlines 'may charge for meals, bags'

Full-service airlines may soon be forced to charge passengers for extras such as inflight meals and baggage handling to account for higher oil prices.

This is according to remarks made by John McCulloch of the Oneworld Alliance at a recent meeting of the International Air Transport Association.

He warned that flyers could find themselves having to pay £10 each for inflight food and £20 to check in luggage if fuel costs fail to drop in the near future.

Many low-cost airlines already engage in the practice and a number of full-priced US carriers also do so.

The comments came shortly after British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh claimed that "the era of cheap flights is over".

"People have to realise it is going to get more expensive to travel," Mr McCulloch commented.

Despite the warnings, recent surveys have indicated that many Britons do not intend to let the tightening economy affect their travel patterns.

According to Ian McCafferty of the Confederation of British Industry, holiday bookings are still strong, suggesting that more Britons want to go on "a well-earned break" from the rising cost of living.

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