The Reading / Listening - Luggage - Level 3

The Irish budget airline Ryanair has a plan to deal with oversized luggage. The airline could increase a bonus it pays to staff for spotting bags that are too big. Ryanair staff currently get a "gate bag bonus" of €1.50 ($1.75) a passenger. This bonus is capped at about €80 ($94) a month. Ryanair's chief executive officer (CEO) wants to remove the monthly cap. He hopes removing it will mean fewer large bags going on the aircraft. The CEO said: "We're already struggling with that amount of baggage. That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about [cutting] the [number] of passengers with excess baggage." Passengers must pay a fee of up to €75 for oversized bags and suitcases.

Ryanair's CEO said being stricter with baggage was necessary, even though most people follow the rules. He said more than 99.9 per cent of passengers have luggage that fits within the size limits. Ryanair said most people knew about the company's baggage rules because they are clear to see on different websites. The company said: "Our bag policies and options are well understood, and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel, and on their boarding pass. A very small proportion of customers who do not [follow our rules] will be charged at the airport." The company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear within a few years.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Luggage - Level 0,  Luggage - Level 1   or  Luggage - Level 2

Sources
  • https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/21/ryanair-weighs-up-higher-bonus-paid-to-staff-intercepting-oversized-luggage
  • https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/airline-considering-bigger-bonuses-staff-who-spot-oversized-bags
  • https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/35946197/ryanair-staff-bonus-oversized-bags/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. LUGGAGE ON AIRPLANES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about luggage on airplanes. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       budget airline / luggage / bonus / staff / passenger / CEO / struggling / suitcases /
       follow the rules / size limits / policies / customers / boarding pass / airport / problem
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. TRAVEL: Students A strongly believe flying is the best way to travel; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. IMPROVEMENTS: How can we make these things better? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

How?

Why?

Airports

 

 

Check-in

 

 

Airplanes

 

 

Baggage

 

 

Passport control

 

 

Seats

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. BONUS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "bonus". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. AIRPLANES: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things about airplanes at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • The seats
  • The cabin crew
  • Being in the air
  • Airports
  • Airplane food
  • In-flight entertainment
  • Landing
  • Taking off

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. budget a. Do something to fix a problem.
      2. deal with b. Seeing or finding something.
      3. luggage c. Behaving in a strong or forceful way.
      4. spotting d. The bags and suitcases you carry when you travel.
      5. passenger e. Finding something very difficult to do.
      6. struggling f. Low-cost; cheap; not expensive.
      7.

aggressive

 g.

A person who is travelling in a car, bus, train, or plane.

    Paragraph 2

      8. stricter h. Is the right size or shape.
      9. fits i. Rules about how to do things.
      10. policies j. Go away; not be seen.
      11. remind k. A person who buys things.
      12. customer l. Help someone remember something.
      13. proportion m. Having strong rules and being less easy.
      14. disappear n. Part of something.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. Ryanair staff get a bonus for carrying very heavy bags.     T / F
  2. The most a staff member can currently get as a bonus is $175 a month.  T / F
  3. The CEO of the airline wants to take away the cap on bonuses.     T / F
  4. Ryanair passenger must pay a fee of up to 75 euros for oversized bags.   T / F
  5. The CEO said most passengers followed Ryanair's baggage rules.     T / F
  6. Ryanair said very few people know about its baggage rules.     T / F
  7. Ryanair reminds customers about baggage rules when they book.     T / F
  8. The CEO hopes there will be no more oversized baggage in a few years.  T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. budget
  2. spotting
  3. capped
  4. aggressive
  5. fee
  6. rules
  7. clear
  8. options
  9. proportion
  10. disappear
  1. regulations
  2. choices
  3. charge
  4. plain
  5. go away
  6. forceful
  7. ratio
  8. low-cost
  9. limited
  10. detecting

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. a plan to deal
  2. This bonus is capped at
  3. it will mean fewer large bags
  4. one of the reasons we are so
  5. pay a fee of up
  6. people knew about the company's
  7. they are clear to see
  8. we remind customers of this
  9. boarding
  10. oversized luggage will disappear
  1. going on the aircraft
  2. pass
  3. to €75
  4. within a few years
  5. aggressive
  6. on different websites
  7. with oversized luggage
  8. baggage rules
  9. about €80
  10. when booking

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
increase
struggling
capped
fee
spotting
aggressive
deal
monthly

The Irish budget airline Ryanair has a plan to (1) ______________________________________________ with oversized luggage. The airline could (2) ______________________________________________ a bonus it pays to staff for (3) ______________________________________________ bags that are too big. Ryanair staff currently get a "gate bag bonus" of €1.50 ($1.75) a passenger. This bonus is (4) ______________________________________________ at about €80 ($94) a month. Ryanair's chief executive officer (CEO) wants to remove the (5) ______________________________________________ cap. He hopes removing it will mean fewer large bags going on the aircraft. The CEO said: "We're already (6) ______________________________________________ with that amount of baggage. That's one of the reasons we are so (7) ______________________________________________ about [cutting] the [number] of passengers with excess baggage." Passengers must pay a (8) ______________________________________________ of up to €75 for oversized bags and suitcases.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
options
fits
pass
necessary
within
remind
charged
clear

Ryanair's CEO said being stricter with baggage was (9) ______________________________________________, even though most people follow the rules. He said more than 99.9 per cent of passengers have luggage that (10) ______________________________________________ within the size limits. Ryanair said most people knew about the company's baggage rules because they are (11) ______________________________________________ to see on different websites. The company said: "Our bag policies and (12) ______________________________________________ are well understood, and we (13) ______________________________________________ customers of this when booking, before they travel, and on their boarding (14) ______________________________________________. A very small proportion of customers who do not [follow our rules] will be (15) ______________________________________________ at the airport." The company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear (16) ______________________________________________ a few years.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) The Irish budget airline Ryanair has a plan to deal ______
     a.  with oversized roughage
     b.  with oversized lug gauge
     c.  with oversized luggage
     d.  with oversized lag ledge
2)  The airline could increase a bonus it pays to staff ______
     a.  for spotting bags
     b.  for sporting bags
     c.  for spitting bags
     d.  for spot tin bags
3)  This bonus is capped at about €80 ______
     a.  ($94) the month
     b.  ($94) a month
     c.  ($94) for month
     d.  ($94) in month
4)  Ryanair's chief executive officer (CEO) wants to remove ______
     a.  the monthly cape
     b.  the monthly carp
     c.  the monthly scrap
     d.  the monthly cap
5)  aggressive about cutting the number of passengers ______
     a.  with access baggage
     b.  with recess baggage
     c.  with excess baggage
     d.  with success baggage

6)  baggage was necessary, even though most people ______
     a.  follow a rules
     b.  follows the rules
     c.  follow the rules
     d.  follower the rules
7)  passengers have luggage that fits within ______
     a.  the sized limits
     b.  the sizes limits
     c.  the size limits
     d.  the seize limits
8)  policies and options are well understood, and we remind customers of ______
     a.  this where book in
     b.  this when book king
     c.  this what booking
     d.  this when booking
9)  before they travel, and on ______
     a.  their boarding parse
     b.  their boarding past
     c.  their boarding pass
     d.  their boarding passer
10)  The company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear within ______
     a.  a flew year
     b.  a few yearly
     c.  a few years
     d.  a flew years

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The Irish budget airline Ryanair has a (1) __________________________________________________ with oversized luggage. The airline could increase a (2) __________________________________________________ to staff for spotting bags that are too big. Ryanair staff currently get a "gate bag bonus" of €1.50 ($1.75) a passenger. This bonus (3) __________________________________________________ about €80 ($94) a month. Ryanair's chief executive officer (CEO) wants to (4) __________________________________________________ cap. He hopes removing it will mean fewer large bags going on the aircraft. The CEO said: "We're already struggling with that (5) __________________________________________________. That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about [cutting] the [number] of passengers with excess baggage." Passengers must (6) __________________________________________________ of up to €75 for oversized bags and suitcases.

Ryanair's CEO said (7) __________________________________________________ baggage was necessary, even though most people follow the rules. He said more than 99.9 per cent of passengers have luggage that fits within (8) __________________________________________________. Ryanair said most people knew about the company's baggage rules because they are (9) __________________________________________________ on different websites. The company said: "Our bag policies and options are well understood, and (10) __________________________________________________ of this when booking, before they travel, and on (11) __________________________________________________. A very small proportion of customers who do not [follow our rules] will be charged at the airport." The company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear (12) __________________________________________________ years.

Comprehension questions

  1. What kind of airline did the article say Ryanair is?
  2. What is the biggest "gate bag bonus" a worker can get in one month?
  3. What does the Ryanair CEO want to remove?
  4. What did the CEO say Ryanair was struggling with?
  5. What is the highest fee a passenger might pay for an oversized bag?
  6. What percentage of passengers follow the baggage size rules?
  7. Where can people clearly see Ryanair's baggage size rules?
  8. What did Ryanair say people understood well?
  9. Where are people who do not follow the baggage rules charged?
  10. What might disappear in a few years from now?

Multiple choice quiz

1) What kind of airline did the article say Ryanair is?
a) a national airline
b) a budget airline
c) an award-winning airline
d) a premium airline
2) What is the biggest "gate bag bonus" a worker can get in one month?
a) about $100
b) about €94
c) about $80
d) about €80 ($94)
3) What does the Ryanair CEO want to remove?
a) the monthly cap
b) his hat
c) uniforms
d) flight delays
4) What did the CEO say Ryanair was struggling with?
a) check-in processes
b) turbulence
c) the amount of baggage
d) passport control
5) What is the highest fee a passenger might pay for an oversized bag?
a) €65
b) €75
c) €85
d) €95

6) What percentage of passengers follow the baggage size rules?
a) 99.9%
b) 99.8%
c) 99.6%
d) 98.9%
7) Where can people clearly see Ryanair's baggage size rules?
a) at airports
b) in newspapers
c) on different websites
d) on suitcases
8) What did Ryanair say people understood well?
a) bag policies and options
b) how to check-in
c) the dangers of turbulence
d) geography
9) Where are people who do not follow the baggage rules charged?
a) at the airport
b) on the airplane
c) online
d) at their destination
10) What might disappear in a few years from now?
a) airplane pollution
b) airplane food
c) flight delays
d) the problem of oversized luggage

Role play

Role  A – Being in the Air
You think being in the air is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): airplane food, taking off or in-flight entertainment.

Role  B – Airplane Food
You think airplane food is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): being in the air, taking off or in-flight entertainment.

Role  C – Taking Off
You think taking off is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): airplane food, being in the air or in-flight entertainment.

Role  D – In-flight Entertainment
You think in-flight entertainment is the best thing about flying. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): airplane food, taking off or being in the air.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'airline'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'luggage'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • deal
    • pays
    • month
    • fewer
    • aggressive
    • fee
    • stricter
    • size
    • clear
    • remind
    • charged
    • years

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Luggage

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'airline'?
    3. What do you think of airlines?
    4. What do you think of the baggage allowance on airplanes?
    5. What do you think of flying?
    6. What do you think of budget airlines?
    7. What are the good and bad things about flying?
    8. What should the weight limit be for taking baggage on airplanes?
    9. What can people do to cut down on the weight of their luggage?
    10. What things do you need to take with you onto an airplane?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'luggage'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you think of your country's national airline?
    5. Why are some airlines strict with the weight of baggage?
    6. In what ways are budget airlines and non-budget airlines different?
    7. Do you worry about what is in the luggage of other passengers?
    8. What good and bad experiences have you had of flying?
    9. What should happen to passengers who do not follow the rules?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the boss of a budget airline?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    The Irish budget (1) ____ Ryanair has a plan to deal with oversized luggage. The airline could increase a bonus it (2) ____ to staff for spotting bags that are too big. Ryanair staff currently get a "gate bag bonus" of €1.50 ($1.75) (3) ____ passenger. This bonus is capped at about €80 ($94) a month. Ryanair's chief executive officer (CEO) wants to remove the monthly (4) ____. He hopes removing it will mean fewer large bags going on the aircraft. The CEO said: "We're already (5) ____ with that amount of baggage. That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about [cutting] the [number] of passengers with excess baggage." Passengers must pay a fee of (6) ____ to €75 for oversized bags and suitcases.

    Ryanair's CEO said being (7) ____ with baggage was necessary, even though most people follow the rules. He said more than 99.9 per cent of passengers have luggage that (8) ____ within the size limits. Ryanair said most people knew about the company's baggage rules because they are clear (9) ____ see on different websites. The company said: "Our bag policies and options are (10) ____ understood, and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel, and on their boarding (11) ____. A very small proportion of customers who do not [follow our rules] will be charged at the airport." The company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear (12) ____ a few years.

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     airliner     (b)     aircraft     (c)     airplane     (d)     airline    
    2. (a)     pay     (b)     payee     (c)     paying     (d)     pays    
    3. (a)     the     (b)     a     (c)     for     (d)     to    
    4. (a)     lid     (b)     hat     (c)     cap     (d)     top    
    5. (a)     struggles     (b)     struggle     (c)     struggling     (d)     struggled    
    6. (a)     up     (b)     over     (c)     down     (d)     along    
    7. (a)     strictly     (b)     stricter     (c)     strictness     (d)     stricture    
    8. (a)     fits     (b)     fitness     (c)     fitting     (d)     fitter    
    9. (a)     for     (b)     to     (c)     by     (d)     at    
    10. (a)     good     (b)     nice     (c)     well     (d)     bad    
    11. (a)     past     (b)     parts     (c)     pass     (d)     passerby    
    12. (a)     withdrawal     (b)     wither     (c)     without     (d)     within

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. The Irish debutg airline Ryanair
    2. Ryanair's chief etuecvxie officer (CEO)
    3. We're already rnuiglggts with that
    4. we are so grsasevieg
    5. passengers with sexsce baggage
    6. oversized bags and tsceisaus

    Paragraph 2

    1. being tcrirtes with baggage
    2. Our bag iesicpol and options
    3. we remind meucssotr of this
    4. on their danibgor pass
    5. A very small ooprtrpion
    6. oversized luggage will ppieadars

    Put the text back together

    (    )     airport." The company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear within a few years.
    (    )     baggage." Passengers must pay a fee of up to €75 for oversized bags and suitcases.
    (    )     bonus" of €1.50 ($1.75) a passenger. This bonus is capped at about €80 ($94) a month. Ryanair's chief executive
    (    )     limits. Ryanair said most people knew about the company's baggage rules because they are clear to
    (    )     officer (CEO) wants to remove the monthly cap. He hopes removing it will mean fewer large bags going on
    (    )     pass. A very small proportion of customers who do not [follow our rules] will be charged at the
    (    )     reasons we are so aggressive about [cutting] the [number] of passengers with excess
    (    )     rules. He said more than 99.9 per cent of passengers have luggage that fits within the size
    (    )     Ryanair's CEO said being stricter with baggage was necessary, even though most people follow the
    (    )     see on different websites. The company said: "Our bag policies and options are well
    (    )     the aircraft. The CEO said: "We're already struggling with that amount of baggage. That's one of the
    (  1  )   The Irish budget airline Ryanair has a plan to deal with oversized luggage. The airline could increase a bonus it pays
    (    )     to staff for spotting bags that are too big. Ryanair staff currently get a "gate bag
    (    )     understood, and we remind customers of this when booking, before they travel, and on their boarding

    Put the words in the right order

    1. The   Ryanair   Irish   budget   airline   a   has   plan   .
    2. a   it   to   bonus   pays   staff   Increase   .
    3. it   large   will   fewer   mean   Removing   bags   .
    4. We're   that   amount   with   already   struggling   baggage   of   .
    5. pay   Passengers   a   must   euros   fee   75   of   .
    6. being   stricter   baggage   Ryanair   said   with   was   necessary   .
    7. Passengers   luggage   within   limits   the   that   fits   have   .
    8. remind   customers   We   booking   when   this   of   .
    9. Customers   not   do   who   our   follow   rules   .
    10. problem   luggage   The   of   disappear   will   oversized   .

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    The Irish budget airline Ryanair has a plan to / for deal with oversized luggage. The airline could increase a bonus it pays / paying to staff for spotting bags that / what are too big. Ryanair staff currently / currency get a "gate bag bonus" of / to €1.50 ($1.75) a passenger. This bonus is capped at about €80 ($94) a month / monthly. Ryanair's chief executive officer (CEO) wants to remove the monthly hat / cap. He hopes removing / remove it will mean fewer large bags going on the aircraft. The CEO said: "We're already struggling with that amount of baggage. That's one of the reasons we are so aggressive about [cutting] the [number] of passenger / passengers with excess baggage." Passengers must pay a fee of up for / to €75 for oversized bags and suitcases.

    Ryanair's CEO said being stricter with baggage was need / necessary, even though most people unfollow / follow the rules. He said more than 99.9 per cent of passengers have luggage that fits wither / within the size limits. Ryanair said most people knowing / knew about the company's baggage rules because they are / be clear to see on different websites. The company said: "Our bag policies and options / optional are well understood, and we remind customers of this what / when booking, before they travel, and on / at their boarding pass. A very small proportion of customers who do not [follow our rules] will be charged at / as the airport." The company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear within a few year / years.

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct. Look up the definition of new words.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    Th_ _r_sh b_dg_t __rl_n_ Ry_n__r h_s _ pl_n t_ d__l w_th _v_rs_z_d l_gg_g_. Th_ __rl_n_ c__ld _ncr__s_ _ b_n_s _t p_ys t_ st_ff f_r sp_tt_ng b_gs th_t _r_ t__ b_g. Ry_n__r st_ff c_rr_ntly g_t _ "g_t_ b_g b_n_s" _f €1.50 ($1.75) _ p_ss_ng_r. Th_s b_n_s _s c_pp_d _t _b__t €80 ($94) _ m_nth. Ry_n__r's ch__f _x_c_t_v_ _ff_c_r (C__) w_nts t_ r_m_v_ th_ m_nthly c_p. H_ h_p_s r_m_v_ng _t w_ll m__n f_w_r l_rg_ b_gs g__ng _n th_ __rcr_ft. Th_ C__ s__d: "W_'r_ _lr__dy str_ggl_ng w_th th_t _m__nt _f b_gg_g_. Th_t's _n_ _f th_ r__s_ns w_ _r_ s_ _ggr_ss_v_ _b__t [c_tt_ng] th_ [n_mb_r] _f p_ss_ng_rs w_th _xc_ss b_gg_g_." P_ss_ng_rs m_st p_y _ f__ _f _p t_ €75 f_r _v_rs_z_d b_gs _nd s__tc_s_s.

    Ry_n__r's C__ s__d b__ng str_ct_r w_th b_gg_g_ w_s n_c_ss_ry, _v_n th__gh m_st p__pl_ f_ll_w th_ r_l_s. H_ s__d m_r_ th_n 99.9 p_r c_nt _f p_ss_ng_rs h_v_ l_gg_g_ th_t f_ts w_th_n th_ s_z_ l_m_ts. Ry_n__r s__d m_st p__pl_ kn_w _b__t th_ c_mp_ny's b_gg_g_ r_l_s b_c__s_ th_y _r_ cl__r t_ s__ _n d_ff_r_nt w_bs_t_s. Th_ c_mp_ny s__d: "__r b_g p_l_c__s _nd _pt__ns _r_ w_ll _nd_rst__d, _nd w_ r_m_nd c_st_m_rs _f th_s wh_n b__k_ng, b_f_r_ th_y tr_v_l, _nd _n th__r b__rd_ng p_ss. _ v_ry sm_ll pr_p_rt__n _f c_st_m_rs wh_ d_ n_t [f_ll_w __r r_l_s] w_ll b_ ch_rg_d _t th_ __rp_rt." Th_ c_mp_ny h_p_s th_ pr_bl_m _f _v_rs_z_d l_gg_g_ w_ll d_s_pp__r w_th_n _ f_w y__rs.

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    the irish budget airline ryanair has a plan to deal with oversized luggage the airline could increase a bonus it pays to staff for spotting bags that are too big ryanair staff currently get a gate bag bonus of €150 $175 a passenger this bonus is capped at about €80 $94 a month ryanairs chief executive officer ceo wants to remove the monthly cap he hopes removing it will mean fewer large bags going on the aircraft the ceo said were already struggling with that amount of baggage thats one of the reasons we are so aggressive about cutting the number of passengers with excess baggage passengers must pay a fee of up to €75 for oversized bags and suitcases

    ryanairs ceo said being stricter with baggage was necessary even though most people follow the rules he said more than 999 per cent of passengers have luggage that fits within the size limits ryanair said most people knew about the companys baggage rules because they are clear to see on different websites the company said our bag policies and options are well understood and we remind customers of this when booking before they travel and on their boarding pass a very small proportion of customers who do not follow our rules will be charged at the airport the company hopes the problem of oversized luggage will disappear within a few years

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    TheIrishbudgetairlineRyanairhasaplantodealwithoversizedluggage.
    Theairlinecouldincreaseabonusitpaystostaffforspottingbagsthatare
    toobig.Ryanairstaffcurrentlygeta"gatebagbonus"of€1.50($1.75)ap
    assenger.Thisbonusiscappedatabout€80($94)amonth.Ryanair'schi
    efexecutiveofficer(CEO)wantstoremovethemonthlycap.Hehopesre
    movingitwillmeanfewerlargebagsgoingontheaircraft.TheCEOsaid:"
    We'realreadystrugglingwiththatamountofbaggage.That'soneofther
    easonswearesoaggressiveabout[cutting]the[number]ofpassengers
    withexcessbaggage."Passengersmustpayafeeofupto€75foroversize
    dbagsandsuitcases.Ryanair'sCEOsaidbeingstricterwithbaggagewas
    necessary,eventhoughmostpeoplefollowtherules.Hesaidmorethan9
    9.9percentofpassengershaveluggagethatfitswithinthesizelimits.Ry
    anairsaidmostpeopleknewaboutthecompany'sbaggagerulesbecaus
    etheyarecleartoseeondifferentwebsites.Thecompanysaid:"Ourbagp
    oliciesandoptionsarewellunderstood,andweremindcustomersofthis
    whenbooking,beforetheytravel,andontheirboardingpass.Averysmal
    lproportionofcustomerswhodonot[followourrules]willbechargedatt
    heairport."Thecompanyhopestheproblemofoversizedluggagewilldis
    appearwithinafewyears.

    Free writing

    Write about oversized luggage for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    There should be big charges for people who take too much on airplanes. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. LUGGAGE ON AIRPLANES: Make a poster about luggage on airplanes. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. WEIGHT AND SIZE LIMIT: Write a magazine article about increasing the charge for luggage on airplanes that is too large and/or heavy. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on luggage on airplanes. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to travel lighter. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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