Help with Ryanair rules

ryanair rule number one: don’t fly with ryanair. ryanair rule number two: don’t fly with ryanair, especially when you have too much carry on.

I think you should be ok with your carry on. mind you, they charge a lot for “extra” luggage and have outrageous “limits”.

Hi Michi,

I flew a number of times with Ryan Air and I came to the conclusion that it is up to the airport as well. For example, in some airports they don’t even look at the carry on – I have flewn with a rather large bag but as long as it fits in the overhead, they don’t say anything. However, if you are planning to stop by London, they are seriously strict on this one and it will only be ONE bulk alowed – even if you have a purse and a shopping bag, that is two so they will not let you. This is what it states in their website:
Ryanair allows each passenger (excluding infants) to carry one small piece of hand baggage on board free of charge. The hand baggage must not weigh more than 10kg and be less than 55cm x 40cm x 20cm, in dimensions (restrictions apply from certain countries). For the safety and convenience of all passengers, hand baggage must fit underneath the seat or in the overhead compartment.

Excess Baggage:
Checked baggage in excess of the checked baggage allowance per passenger will be charged a fee per kilo.

I flew Ryan Air a few times in the last month (leaving London Stansted and Rome Ciampino) and not once was my luggage measured. They weighed the checked luggage, but I saw a few people make it past when they were a couple kilos over. As for carry-on, there was nothing like the strict checks at Heathrow. My carry-ons were never measured or weighed and they didn’t care that I had two bags (my camera bag and a canvas grocery sack). As stated above, though, experiences can vary widely between airports.

In contrast with Luke, I had a fantastic time flying Ryan Air. Will definitely fly with them again. If you’re tall or want the extra leg room, get to airport early and stand in the crowd at the gate. Enter the plane through the back door and make your way to the exit rows. On at least one of the flights, there were probably 20 people seated before I got to pick my seat, and not one was in the exit row. Everyone seems to want to stay at the front of the plane and that creates a bottleneck at the front door….

those pesky infants.. always trying to travel with extra gear

Ryan AIr are no worse than most of the other cheapos – you get good flights and bad flights. As they say, you pays your money and you takes your choice. You can always fly with the traditional airlines but, let’s face it, RA get you there v cheaply, so you can travel more!

Personally I always use a pretty big soft rucksack as a carry-on. It’s very simple and doesn’t have pockets all over it, so it doesn’t take up much space in itself. Everything I need with me just goes into that when I check in and until I’m on the plane. Camera bag, computer, food, you name it. It’s weighed over 20 kilos on occasion and I’ve never been refused.

It’s just a game – they say one bag, so show them one bag. They fact that it has five bags inside it doesn’t seem to matter. I’d just avoid using hard bags as a carry-on, get a big soft back-pack. P.