BUDGET airline easyJet has announced it will start charging for hold baggage.

From August 3, reservations for travel from October 1, 2007 onwards will be subject to a fee for each piece of hold baggage of £2 per flight sector, up to the maximum total hold baggage weight per passenger of 20kg, which is unchanged.

The change replaces the previous policy where the first hold bag was free but subsequent bags were charged at £5 per item.

The low-cost carrier claims that the charges will simplify the baggage procedure and said that they were seeking to reduce the number of passengers who travel with checked-in bags.

The airline added that the change to its baggage policy would be handed back to passengers in terms of improvements to operational efficiency as well as reducing the impact on the environment

EasyJet operates a free carry-on bag policy for bags of up to 55cm x 40cm x 20cm - with no weight restriction.

Andy Harrison, easyJet Chief Executive said: "It's about getting people to pack smarter, travel lighter and travel cheaper."

The airline is the latest low-cost carrier serving the Province to start charging passengers with check-in luggage after competitor Ryanair began charging last year.

Flybe followed suit soon after with a charge of £2 for each bag put into the hold.

The Flybe rate has since risen to £7 per bag per one-way flight, dropping to £4 if booked online at least two hours before check-in and at the time of going to Press Ryanair were charging a Baggage Fee of £5/€6 Per Passenger/ Per One Way Flight rising to £10/€12 if booked via a call centre

Meanwhile, Wizz Air, the eastern European budget carrier now operating two Polish routes from Belfast International - which previously only charged for extra pieces of luggage - will now add a fee of £2.50 per bag at the time of initial booking or £5 per bag if paid later.

The new policy will not change the current rule that allows only one handbag on board not exceeding 10 kg. The excess baggage charge of 8 euros for each kg over the 20 kg allowance also remains unchanged.

Natasa Kázmér, Head of Corporate Communication and Public Affairs said: 'We are pursuing our philosophy of charging the passengers according to their needs and we are using this change to keep our airfares down. Passengers who will only travel with carry on luggage will benefit for even lower fares".

This comes at a time when all the low-cost carriers - indeed all airlines - have been brought into line over the transparency of their pricing by the Office of Fair Trading in the UK.

And easyJet have announced yet another pricing scheme, albeit on a voluntary basis.

The easyJet Carbon Calculator will calculate every passenger's emissions in a reliable and robust way, based on sector length, load factor and fuel burn.

The airline expects the average contribution for a return trip to be aprox £3.