Ryan air

Kari,

One other thing to note about your luggage is the weight. RyanAir is VERY strict about weight limits, although they may not weigh every carry-on item. If they do weigh and you're over the limit, it will be pricey!

Note also that most European airlines allow only ONE carry-on bag. That doesn't mean one plus a "personal item", it means ONE ONLY!

Happy travels!

with most EU airlines, one means one--best bet is to pay the baggage charge on-line before you get to the desk--they (and others) only take cash, you could end up scurrying around an airport looking for an ATM. One of my collegues on a trip ended up paying more for the extra bag than the fare.

Like Ken was saying - not only weight, but size. Ryanair will literally put your bag in a little metal box the exact size they say you can have on the web site. If it's over, you'll pay.

Luckily their carry on weight is pretty generous!

As others said, if you think you're over, deal with it in advance! Ryanair is really strict, but if you're prepared, it's a great deal!

Kari, be very very careful when using Ryan Air.My wife and i used Ryan Air to go from Dublin to Liverpool last fall.When we checked our two bags,the employee told us that the cost for both bags was almost $200.00.Yes, u read right!!.We pay for the palne tickets just under $30.00.Our jaws dropped to the floor.We couldnt believe it.It was such a ripped off.We were very upset.Later we found out that Ryan Air is basically a "shuttle" airline and that,even though their tickets are inexpensive, everything else is incredibly steep.Also, when we tried to make changes in our schedule in Dublin it was imposible to get a hold of them.The hotel manager told us that,again,Ryan Air is cheap but everything else is mission imposible.So, if you are just seating in the plane and not checking bags this is your airline.if you think that you are going to need more from the airline, be ready for the worst.Hope this helps!

Although I sympathetic with Jorge all Ryanair's luggage fees are clearly stated on their website and in their terms and conditions as are all their other rules (e.g. size.)

One thing to remember with Ryanair (and the other low cost carriers) is if they say something in their terms and conditions or state a limit or rule they really mean it. Really. This actually make them very easy to use as you know exactly what is allowed.

In a way I think the legacy carriers, and the American ones are by far the worst offenders, have done passengers a disservice by the way the enforce (or don't) their own rules. People have got used to the fact that one bag really means two or three, 21" really means 23" plus another 5" of wheels and handles if you like, check in closes at 2.30 really means 2.30 unless you're late then we'll hold it for you... You see it a lot in the questions asked here, "will I be OK with?", "Can I get a way with?"

Like most Europeans I think most of my travel is on LCCs (Ryanair, EsayJet, Jet2 etc.) and they're all fine, as long as you read, believe and abide by their rules.

If the weight limits are a problem consider Easy Jet - I believe they have a more relaxed weight policy (i.e. allow more per person carry on)

disservice??????????????

Practicing good will and making exceptions isn't a disservice, it's good business. Is it also a disservice to allow someone to check in a few minutes late, or to offer passengers a glass of water if the plane is sitting on the tarmac for a while? Sure all the fees, petty rules, and mislabeled airports are all buried in the fine print. The discount airlines entire business model is based on the theory that most passengers never read the fine print, get suckered in by the cheap fares, and wind up paying extra fees, and sometimes all new tickets at much higher prices...it's where all their profit comes from. If 100% of the passengers diligently read all the fine print, and followed all their rules to the letter, and never paid any extra fees, the discount airlines would be out of business in a year.

I'll pay a bit extra and stick with the legacy airlines.

Each to their own Michael, each to their own.

Although I disagree that the legacy carriers practice good will or make exceptions with regard to check in times and baggage rules. What they do is run two sets of rules, the official, published rules and the real rules; the ones that they actually enforce at check in. And it's pointless, why limit bags to 21" and then have a blanket policy of allowing larger bags? All it does is confuse the issue and leave people guessing what sized bags will be allowed, why not just tell people what the real size limit is.

That is exactly what the LCCs do and why I used the word disservice. People are so used to being lied to by airlines that they get in to the habit of breaking the rules by 10% or so then when they encounter airlines that follow their own rules they get caught out and surprised.

Legacy carriers do provide more customer service but one aspect of that I could do without is the "privilege" of being told that check-in closes 15 minutes before it actually does so I can check-in "late" as an act of "good will" or being lied to about baggage limits so they can do me a favour and let me on with my "over sized" bags.

While it is a bit away from the original topic - Interesting debate regarding legacy carriers.

A couple of points

1. I always make it a point to read the fine print of anything I sign my name to. Anybody who fails to read fine print only has themselves to blame.

2. That said I 100 percent believe the budget airlines to be proverbial devil you know. Know what they are about and they don't give a darn about you. If you manage the situation you might get a pretty good deal. We actually have stopped using Ryan Air and have chosen to support other airlines with our fares on the basis of wanting more for our money.

3. However I agree with Peter it is a joke the unspoken rules that legacy carriers follow. Full disclosure: I have certainly been the beneficiary of some of these. However it is bothersome when your are affected negatively by them. Again going back to the idea of the devil you know - At least I know what I am getting from the budget carriers. I can't tell you the number of people I watched wheel on a 2nd carry on bag as a "personal" item during the holiday season. I will just say that I am glad that I found overhead space for my single carry on bag that followed the rules :)

I might help to be first in line. There seems to be less room on these planes for carry-on luggage. It is possible that they declare a bag "too large" after the plane has begun to fill up and they guess that there is no more room overhead in the passenger compartments. I think that is what happened to me.

I don't want to come across as a cheerleader for LCCs, they have their positives and their drawbacks. I just think a lot of criticisms are unfounded, there are many valid reasons to dislike Ryanair, charging for using all but the most obscure payment options being one, but I don't see clearly stating their terms and conditions as a negative.

LCCs are not the solution to every trip, in fact they are probably not suited for most travel asked about here. Their luggage restrictions and the fact they don't do connections make them a poor choice for the final leg in a transatlantic trip or for any sort of multi-country "progress." But, and it is a big but, if you are willing to live with their rules and restrictions, which are much easier to accurately discover than the legacy carriers, then they provide a cheap way to get from A to B.

I know I've used this analogy before but hey, I like it and I think it's apt. Think of Ryanair et al as like McDonald's. If you want silver service and white linen then it's not the place for you, go to a full service restaurant and pay the extra. If you don't mind eating out of cardboard and clearing your own table then Mackies is ideal for a quick and cheap meal. If someone goes to McDonald's for their wedding aniversary and then starts to complain that their day is ruined because they had to fetch their own food and weren't even given plates... I'm not sure how much sympathy I'd have.