Ryanair baggage

We got caught by a gate attendant getting on a Norwegian Air Shuttle flight in Oslo. Our bags are 21" rolling bags and completely legal in the U.S. But European bag racks are somewhat smaller, and the wheels on our bags kept our bags from fitting in their rack.
We had to pay for 2 bags to be checked--something we never do. And we'd already flown into Oslo from Budapest on another Norwegian Air Shuttle flight 2 hours earlier without incident.
What made us mad is that there were probably 100 bags already on the plane bigger than ours. My wife demanded that every person in line behind us not bring in any bags our size or larger because she felt we were singled out.

I had never looked at Ryanair before. I must be an idiot, because I could not find on their website what the bag check fee at check-in is.

I did try a sample booking and all the add on fees are "interesting" ( best polite word I can think of).

Cannot imagine I would ever want to use them. Thanks for the warning

Sorry, I have no answer to your question

If you feign ignorance, you likely will be hit with the fee plus a penalty, RyanAir takes this seriously (as do many other European Budget Airlines as well as major Airlines) Just go on and pay to check a bag.

As for cost, 50 euro seems like a lot, but when you consider your total cost (ticket plus baggage) it is likely still much less than other options, look at the big picture.

We have possibly carry-on size bags but when flying RyanAir and EasyJet last year I just paid to check the bags ahead of time to avoid any hassle at the airport and substantially higher at-the-gate bag fees.

I felt the fees were clearly spelled out when I booked. Given all the press on people hating RyanAir, it was hard to miss.

What made us mad is that there were probably 100 bags already on the plane bigger than ours. My wife demanded that every person in line behind us not bring in any bags our size or larger because she felt we were singled out.

give us break y'all took this too personal; a waste of time I'm glad i was not on this flight

Hi, I booked a flight on Ryanair unaware of the exorbitant baggage fees. Fast forward to now and they've gone up even more - yes I should have read the fine print but I didn't. I am bringing a bag that is only carryon with every other airline but with Ryanair it's too big for the cabin. My question is - if I feign ignorance about the size and they (most likely) tell me I have to check it below, is that the worst that will happen? I will have to check it and pay the 50 EUR?

What? Just follow the rules or don't travel if you can't afford it.

just don't bother flying Ryanair.
Ryanair fees are all there in front of you, their base price is really low and you need to factor in the cost of bags in your overall price,#
their baggage size is just the same as most of the other European low cost carriers and actually larger than some, they also allow an additional small bag to be placed under your seat.
Your bag may be acceptable as a carryon with most American airlines but not with most european carriers.

Feigning ignorance has absolutely no effect on Ryanair staff. They will nick you with exorbitant charges anyway, and just say "you should have read the fine print". They make a lot of money from extra fees. I will never fly with them again, unless there is absolutely no other option.

One question though - where is the flight from and to?

"What? Just follow the rules or don't travel if you can't afford it."
Good thing I didn't follow this advice when I backpacked Europe in my 20s. I can afford it but I like my money to go where it has an impact, paying baggage fees is not one of them.

Yes, I agree, I got a smokin' deal on the airfare and even factoring the baggage fee in at the highest rate it's still pretty good. My mistake was assuming that my carryon size was relevant with any airline. I don't often get the opportunity to fly with a low cost European carrier.

Please note that I am re-iterating that it was MY mistake. I haven't once said that it was the airline's. The fee structure is slightly sneaky but they are still spelled out prior to booking.

We flew Ryanair from Bournemouth to Palma two weeks ago and tried checking in three bags by mistake (it transpired that we had only paid for the two adults bags). We were polite and patient whilst the attendant made a call and we were allowed to take it on as hand luggage. The size restrictions are, in my opinion, entirely appropriate given the lack of overhead storage space and the delays in takeoff that inevitably occur due to flight attendants struggling to find space to fit all the cases in which is a big problem with British Airways for example. Our bag was within the dimensions set by Ryanair and I consider it to be a reasonably large bag however I prefer to pack more stuff (including kids pool inflatables, gymwear etc) and therefore accept that I will have to pay extra to check my luggage in unlike others who selfishly try their luck with larger bags at the expense of others who play by the rules.

I was pleasantly surprised by the flight considering I had previously vowed never to fly them again after an awful experience. However they have improved and are no different to British Airways with their much devalued (but now overpriced) service. BA have lost another loyal customer with their cheapness and I'm sure we won't be the last.

Apparently this question touched a nerve with a couple of people. My 2 cents here is not worth any more than anyone else's, but I didn't read anything in the OP's question indicating she didn't want to pay for her bag. Just that she made a mistake, discovered it, and wanted to know if waiting to pay when she got there would be different than doing it ahead of time - or even if it really isn't a big deal. Not knowing answers is why many people ask questions. I really don't see any need for the less than polite comments from one poster. edited from *he to she. Sorry!

Thank you Travelmom for being the voice of reason and actually reading my question! Indeed that is exactly what I wanted to know but instead received a stream of vitriol, some directed towards me and others towards Ryanair...... Thank you to the few posters who were polite and actually stayed on topic.

Ryanair tend to have lower base prices than other carriers, say Easyjet, particularly if you book your flight 9 months out, so long as your hand luggage is smaller. They are often more expensive than Easyjet once you factor in checked in baggage.

They are likely to be more flexible with your slightly larger bags if the flight isn't full.

I was traveling with a full size (others might say normal size) carry on. The more I travel the less I carry. I found I only needed about half to 60 percent of the space in my carry on. I had looked for something smaller but never found exactly what I was looking for.

Now that Ryan, and all the other budget airlines (including domestic US carriers like Frontier), are requiring much smaller carry-ons, companies are producing smaller bags to fit the requirements.

I think the choices are suck it up and pay the bag fee, feigning ignorance won't save money, or seriously consider consolidating into a smaller carry on.

I hope everything works out OK for you. I generally fly Brit Air when overseas just because I don't want to get caught in the Ryanair trap and don't mind paying a little more, but prob not much more as I've gotten some great prices on BA flights within Europe without being nickeled and dimed to death. Just hope for the best and if they make you check the bag, at least you won't be surprised by the fee.

I'm with travelmom - I'm actually a bit embarrassed by some of the harsh replies because generally the posters on here are very helpful and don't jump all over people for asking a question, and they have been very helpful when I've had questions. I hope you don't let those replies put you off asking more questions on the forum...we really are here to help.

Just don't do what this guy did... ;) https://www.msn.com/en-ph/travel/other/ryanair-passenger-makes-check-in-attendant-cry/ar-BBCl5mA

I will just have to pay the baggage fee and it's probably better to do it up front. Thanks everyone for the advice.

Grumpy people won't keep me away. I am way thicker skinner than that ;) I promise not to make anyone cry though!

It is a point worth noting that European carry on maximum is usually 20" not the 21" we have here in N A. I had a super little carry on that met the criteria and used it for years until the handle broke in Athens airport! I purchased a very cheap spinner in Athens that is still going strong. Now have a Lug Puddlejumper that is a slightly different shape but falls within the European guidelines. Be sure and check the carryon guidelines if you are traveling on any European airline be it a national carrier or budget.