Never mind the price, how much space is there on the plane for our luggage? That might become the a key question for families booking summer 2009 holidays.

Never mind the price, how much space is there on the plane for our luggage?

That might become the a key question for families booking summer 2009 holidays, as tour operators and airlines launch a so-called “Battle of the Bags” to attract the early bookings which might ease their cashflow in a recession.

In summer 2009 brochures, Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways, who combined this year to form Britain’s third-largest airline, is introducing a complimentary baggage allowance of 10kg (22lb) per infant in addition to the existing 25kg allowance for hand and hold luggage.

Thomsonfly and First Choice Airways will also take infant pushchairs and buggies free of charge, without counting them as part of the family’s allowance.

Rival airline Jet2.com is upping its baggage allowance by 30 per cent from 17kg to 22kg on all flights from April 1 – possibly the most generous baggage allowance in the leisure sector. It will also apply to flights booked after October 20 for travel before March 2009.

One leading travel agency, Co-op Travel, claims to be heading the campaign to enable travellers to take more luggage on flights, without getting hit by extra charges.

It reckons an average infant on holiday needs essential items weighing 14kg (about 30lb) – but only two out of seven major airlines used by British holidaymakers provide an additional baggage allowance.

“It’s important for families to know what charges they might incur before they book,” says Co-op Travel’s head of retail distribution Trevor Davis.

“We see this as part of the service a good travel agent should offer, especially for those taking young children abroad for the first time.”

A Co-op survey claims the best carriers for families with young children are Virgin and British Airways, which offer an infant allowance in addition to a normal baggage allowance of 23kg. Both have high excess baggage charges, though, from £30 to £120 (charge per bag, not kg).

The worst operator surveyed was Ryanair, with a 15kg baggage allowance and no extra allowance for infants. Parents needing to take extra items must pay an excess charge of £12 per kg.