It will come as no shock to most people to hear that airlines right now are in a fight to stay alive. This is due to the current recession, rising fuel prices and the swine flu outbreak. During a time when airlines are at a low point, it seems that the government is ready to tack on more insults to injury by way of increased compensation to passengers who lose their baggage.

Right now British Airways and Bmi, who just so happen to be two of the worst airlines in Europe when it comes to losing luggage, are lobbying against the government to drop these increases. If the proposal goes through, then the airlines will have to pay extra for customers who lose their bags.

As of now the government’s plans is to increase the amount of compensation that a customer can claim per bag by 13.1 percent, meaning that the amount that a passenger could claim per bag would go up from £972.46 to £1,099.85 by next year. British Airways said that, due to the current economic crisis, it seems inappropriate to take on this new proposal now. They go on to say that it would seem like a better idea to postpone this increase until when airlines are back on their feet.

The Air Transport Users Council, also known as the passenger watchdog, of course has backed this proposal by the government. They go on to point out that this increase is not out of line. In fact, they say that it is in line with inflation. Even the Department of Transportation is backing the proposed increase. This could spell out bad news for airlines like British Airways and Bmi, who are so strongly against it.