ryanair carry on - do they weigh, and how closely do they measure?

We flew Ryanair twice last summer, Belfast to Glasgow and then Edinburgh to Dublin. Same exact luggage both times.

In Belfast, they didn't weigh or measure anything, not even our checked bags. In Edinburgh, they weighed everything - and charged a hefty excess-weight fee. Both planes were completely full - it was not a case of the first plane being half-empty.

I know this doesn't help you, but that's exactly what happened to us.

In my experience, size is less an issue than weight. They have the little box shaped things as well that you can check your bag size, but as long as you are not outrageously oversize, all is fine.

Weight however must be within the limits. At one time, every carry on was weighed at check in. Now, with on line check-in, it does vary whether you will be checked.

Unfortunately, the Brits tend to be a stickler for these type of things, at the gate, there will probably be a line to weigh the carry-on. Oddly, if you were flying Rome to London, there probably would be no or random checks.

I would consider paying to check a bag. 22 lbs is really very little. Your bag probably weighs 3 or 4, and keep in mind, when they say one carry-on, that is it; no roller bag plus a purse or day bag. Given the penalty for being overweight, figure the cost of a checked bag into the price and compare from there.

What's the point? RyanAir CAN weigh carryons and CAN measure size. If they catch you with something over 10kg, or oversized, they CAN make you pay to check it. Do you think telling them that "my friends on Rick Steves said it would be OK" is going to get you off? Make sure it's not out of specs.

I do think that as long as you have a soft sided (non-wheeled bag), and you don't stuff it, you will be OK.

I have a 21x13x9 OPEC bag, not completely filled, and it has always fit in the Lufthansa sizing box.

The point is that the luggage I hope to bring is an excellent size for the other 4.5 weeks, and I'm hoping that the 1 inch difference will not clobber me on Ryanair. If it does, I'll go ahead and book a train. We travel very light and cheap, so I'm not too worried about keeping it under the 22 lbs.

We just got back and flew with them. I got nailed for an overweight bag (checked luggage). Luckily, they did not check the weight of my backpack, because I just stuffed the heavy stuff in my backpak, until I met the weight goals for my checked luggage. (my backpak is slightly larger than their size restrictions, but it is soft sided, and I could have stuffed it into their "checker box".) The gal in front of me had an oversize carry on (it was obvious that it would not fit in the "checker box"), so she was totally out of luck.

They can make you put your pack in the checker box, so it would be wise to ensure that you can meet their size restrictions.

Just because they did not check the weight of my backpak is no reason for me to assume that they will not next time.

If I was you, I would just check the bag, and not worry about the weight or size.

I got caught coming home; my bag was full of the Better Half's treasures that she found, I should have taken this into consideration when I checked my bag weight before we left on vacation!

Just flew Ryan Air from Hahn to Edinburgh in May. Both times, they did not check the weight, but they did put random peoples bags into the size checker. We had weighed our bags beforehand, so knew it was underweight. They are serious too about One Bag, and One Bag only for carry-on.

That said, our experience with Ryan Air was excellent and I truly don't mind flying with them. Staff was friendly, planes were pretty much on time, with about a 30 min. delay on one of them. Boarding is quick and once you board, you leave. I look forward flying with them again to go back to Edinburgh and perhaps Ireland soon. I have taken them to Rome also, but that was a few years ago.

And I think it is worth adding that while many have an aversion to checking a bag, on most budget airlines it really is no big risk. Airports are usually smaller, traffic is lighter, and you are flying point to point. The end result is that it would be very rare they would lose your bag and the wait time for getting your bag at the other end is short. As for the cost, many can't stand the idea of paying to check the bag, but add it to the cost of the ticket and pretend that is the price which includes a free checked bag, the total cost is still a deal.

I'm with Lee. Ryanair has no reason to let you violate the terms on your ticket. They may not check - if they do, however, it's much better to know you are within the limits so you don't have to pay a lot more to check at the gate.

If you pack right, 22 lbs should be plenty. Lufthansa/SAS give you 18 pounds and Virgin is less than that. Make sure you use a bag that is within the size limits and as light weight as possible.

be prepared to pay in CASH if overweight--am pretty sure they do not take CC's for that. I know that was my experience when a colleague had a box of tools that cos more than his ticket from MAN to POZ.