How can I avoid baggage charges?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Air Canada and BA both have generous cabin-bag policies for a trip to Toronto (Getty)

Q I’ve just been trying to book flights in the summer from London to Toronto via Skyscanner. It appears that all the airlines on this route now charge extra for checked baggage. But unless I’m misreading things it seems that each website selling the air tickets charges a different amount for the baggage, ranging from £35 to £85 per bag per flight, on the basis of my researches so far. What’s more, some websites won’t tell you what the baggage charges are until you have paid for the tickets. Am I going about this the wrong way?

John B

A The process of charging extra for elements that were previously free began in 2006 when Flybe announced revolutionary plans to separate out checked baggage; the fee for a case began at £2, which is now a very distant memory. “Disaggregation” is moving swiftly through the airline industry.