Ryanair calls for cheaper travel insurance for 'more reliable' airlines
August 21, 2007Ryanair is calling for cheaper travel insurance for passengers travelling with airlines that lose fewer bags.
The low-fares airline has written to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), claiming that risk-assessed travel insurance ought to be introduced "based on airline performance".
It points out that its own lost baggage figures declined by 0.5 bags per 1,000 last year to 0.4 this year, while British Airways has seen its own figure rise from 21 to 28 bags per 1,000 over the same period.
Problems such as tighter security checks and thick fog at Heathrow over Christmas added to British Airways' baggage loss woes over the last 12 months.
Ryanair's Peter Sherrard commented: "For years, the car insurance industry has provided discounts for low risk categories such as women drivers and the over-30s. The time has now come for passengers flying with airlines that deliver the best customer service to enjoy the same discounts."
According to Ryanair's figures, Air France lost 16.3 bags per 1,000 over the year and Lufthansa lost 16.
Norwich Union statistics indicate that travel insurance claims for lost luggage rose by 40 per cent in the first six months of 2007.
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