# Find the hidden option

> Companies – particularly budget airlines – will try to stiff you. Here's what to look out for.

I was trying to book a flight from Rome (FCO) to Bristol (BRS) yesterday. That's where we'll be at Christmas: my sister lives there. Lovely city, worth a visit.

easyJet flies the route, which is handy. Their advertised fare is €70. Not bad. So 2×€70 is about AU$250. Bearable. Within our budget.

Not so fast, of course. We'll need to upgrade our baggage as easyJet's default allowance is basically a bag of crisps. This is the first screen that you see after adding the base flights to your cart.

<JDImage
  folder="blog"
  src="0165A-Easyjet_bundles-897x583.png"
  alt="easyJet's 'bundles', which I explain below."
  width={897}
  height={583}
  caption="Figure 22.00.165A. easyJet's bundles."
/>

That's … not as cheap any more. The middle column is what we need: it's the addition of the 'large cabin bag' I'm looking for. That's _another_ €70 per person.

And we only need one of these upgrades: we can fit our larger stuff in Lucy's bag, and mine fits the 'small under seat cabin bag' constraints. But this screen is all-or-nothing. Two, or none. Double the cost.

AU$500 is no longer bearable. That's _wonder-if-we-can-get-the-train-instead_ money, or the dreaded _what-if-we-flew-to-Heathrow-and-caught-the-bus_ option.[^train]

[^train]: Normally I'd love the option of taking the train from Rome through Italy, France, and under the Channel, but the week before Christmas? Nah, let's not mess about.

We started looking at options. And then I thought…

## Always look for the trick

These companies employ people whose job it is to design these 'dark patterns'. Be smarter than them.

I selected that leftmost column, 'get light'. No extras. And lo-and-behold, what happens in a handful of screens?

<JDImage
  folder="blog"
  src="0165B-Easyjet_bags-661x610.png"
  alt="Screenshot showing a single bag selection option for €42!"
  width={661}
  height={610}
  caption="Figure 22.00.0165B. easyJet's baggage options."
/>

Well _he-llo there_, an option to add a bag to a single passenger for a mere €42! That's €100 less than what we were initially presented. A massive difference to us.

This sort of thing is really common. But if you see the first option and think, _that should be illegal!_ – well maybe it is. Maybe you just have to find the hidden option. Always look for it.