18 April 2026

Bags, seats, and the third screen nobody announced

After a fare is chosen, a second shop appears. If the 20 kg bag sits behind a control that looks like a footnote, travellers tap continue with a cabin bag they will regret at KLIA.

Bags, seats, and the third screen nobody announced

The fare cell is a relief. Then the app opens bags, seats, insurance, and sometimes a van. The traveller thought the purchase was the fare. The third screen feels like a stall at the night market after they had already paid for dinner.

On one KUL–BKI path the 20 kg checked bag sat under a control labelled “more,” styled like the privacy link in the footer. Cabin bag was pre-ticked. People who had a week in Sabah and a snorkel bag went through with cabin only. They did not leave the funnel. They left angry at KLIA, which is a different problem, and they told their group chat.

Seat maps that take twelve seconds on a mid-range phone in Kajang are another quiet exit. Twelve seconds is enough to assume the app has frozen. A skeleton of the cabin, even ugly, keeps the session.

We do not set bag prices. We do ask whether the add-on shop was announced on the fare cell — a line such as “bags and seats next” — or whether it ambushes. Ambush is a commercial choice. It should be a conscious one.