Easy Jet

The low cost European airlines take the baggage limits quite seriously, and it's typically really expensive to add a checked bag at the airport; book it on line when you buy your ticket. By one item, they mean one item; no additional 'personal' item like a pack/purse/briefcase. Read the details really carefully and comply with them.
My travel purse is unstructured nylon, and I can fit it inside my carryon for the flight.

When they say one carry on bag, they mean one bag. No purse, no backpack, no briefcase, no nothing. My wife and I had to repack to get everything into two bags. And we travel pretty light. EasyJet is the best of the European budget air carriers, and flights are very inexpensive if you book far ahead.'

Gail, EasyJet is my "preferred" budget airline in Europe, and I had two flights with them in September. They do have a limit of one carry-on per passenger and in my experience they always enforce that. That doesn't mean "one plus a personal item such as a Laptop case or Purse", it literally means ONE ONLY of the approved size. This practice seems to be quite common with budget airlines in Europe. I normally check one bag when flying with them, and since my luggage is usually heavier than the allowable limit, I pay for the extra weight at the time of booking. It's much more expensive if they find bags overweight at the gate. One other point to note is that budget airlines often use a "sliding scale" so the prices will increase as the flight fills. Therefore, booking early is a good idea! I believe they are now offering advance seat selektion (for a fee of course), but I've never used that. They seem to be very popular, as every flight I've taken with EasyJet has been completely full. As with other budget airlines, there are no small bags of Pretzels or complementary juice or water - you'll pay for anything you order during the flight. On some flights they also sell tickets for ground transportation (ie: the Malpensa Shuttle). They're a bit more expensive than buying the same tickets from the Shuttle Driver, but it's certainly convenient. Based on my experiences so far, I would certainly recommend EasyJet. Happy travels!

one means one

Easyjet is fine. As others stated, one single carry-on item is enforced. If you have more than one item, just make sure to pay the fee for a checked bag when you buy your ticket; you will pay more if you wait until check-in.

One bag it is! Thanks for the info!

Easy Jet is for the sharp, savy traveler only! Make one mistake and you'll pay for it. Yes, they are serious about the one bag rule, and close the check ins up to 45 min early (so the help can go over to the gate?). You're late, you're not going! If you have to change your flight to another, the penalties can exceed the cost of just outright buying a new ticket! They offer such low prices to draw you in, then nickle, dime and Euro you to death, shaking you for every bit they can.... Also they like to keep those planes moving. Oh, IF THEY cancell a flight, they'll let you change to another flight without additional charge, or you can get a refund. That's the most honest thing I've seen with them. Go in knowing that they want to fleece you, and double, triple check your flights before confirming!!! You can get a travel bargin if you do it right. Good luck.

I must leap to the defence of Easyjet. Compared to the OTHER one they are more than ok. Just used them for the first time (we usually use BA) to book a flight for April and found their site very easy to use and any extras were upfront. They are now allocating seat numbers at check-in so there is no longer any unseemly rush to get on board ahead of the crowd, the one reason I have not flown with them before. Unlike other budget airlines there is only a size limit for carry-on, no weight limit BUT you must be able to lift it into the overhead lockers unaided.

One additional comment, in defense of EasyJet..... I've flown with "the OTHER" airline that passengers "like to dislike", and that's one reason I prefer EasyJet. I've also found their website very easy to use, and so far haven't had any problems travelling with them. In terms of their operating practices, these don't seem much different than most other budget airlines. Passengers ARE usually packed in like sardines, any snacks you buy on the flight WILL be extra cost, there WILL be charges for checked luggage which is above their stated weight limit, and they DO enforce the one carry-on rule. The rules are clearly stated, so there are no surprises. The bottom line - they DO offer very good fares and so far I haven't had any problems with their flights. They also have an iPhone App which makes keeping track of flights very easy. Cheers!