I'm taking RyanAir for the first time. I am checking one bag only and know it can only weigh 33 pounds or less. I cannot find out what the dimensions of the bag needs to be. The website says, "For health and safety reasons Ryanair does not accept for carriage any individual item exceeding 32 kilos or with combined dimensions of more than 81cms (height), 119cms (width) and 119cms (depth)." This in inches is 31x46x46. So can my one checked suitcase weighing 33 pounds or less have the dimensions of 81cm x 119cm x 119cm ??? I don't want to get there and be screwed. My bag in inches is: 8x22x28. Any help or advice is appreciated.
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
805 posts
A few things:
33kg is about 72-73 lbs, the real limit for Ryanair is 10kg or 22 lbs unless you want to pay VERY HEAVY excess baggage charges. Ryanir makes a lot of money on this stuff so they will check. It's part of how they make up of charging low fares.
Your bag sounds fine though, sizewise.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23297 posts
You need to recheck your numbers. You are suggesting that RyanAir would accept a bag nearly 4' by 4' by 2.5' . That is absolutely huge - 40 cubic feet. I don't think so. You bag at less than 3 cubic feet should be fine.
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
508 posts
Chamonix - You won't have a problem checking your bag as long as it's under the 15 kilo limit. A 28" bag might be hard to keep under the 15 kilo limit. My 22" bag has been over 15 kilos before (on the way home), but luckily they just chose to ignore the weight... I think they usually charge something like 15 Euro per kilo over 15.
The large size and weight is the maximum they will handle but they would probably charge not only for each kilo over 15, but for oversized bags as well.
Frank - She cut and pasted the size information right off the Ryanair website. I thought it was strange the first time I saw it too!
Posted by
Sonoma, CA, USA
12 posts
All I can say is this - no matter what you do or how you pack or try to stay within their "guidelines"- Ryanair will "screw" you some way. We just ended up paying $1,000 US and 24 hours of our time thanks to Ryanair and their delightful lack of serviceor responsibililty. Interesting note - I'm a meeting planner and arrange travel all over the world - their reply to me was that I obviously don't use discount airlines - and Jet Blue, ATA and Southwest don't count because "they're American companies and have different customer service standards". Their quote - not mine!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
They are right, Ryanair does have different customer service standards than American airlines. You just have to play their game better than they do. (And wasn't it Jet Blue who left a planeload of passengers stranded on a runaway for 8 hours awhile back?)
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Nancie...I'd be interested in hearing details. Chamonix, your bag should be just fine. They have a maximum weight and size for checked baggage so baggage handlers don't hurt themselves. You are well within the size limits....the more important issue is the weight limit of 15 kg or 33 lbs. Keep it at or below that weight and you'll be fine. Just remember, the checked bag fee is per bag, so better to have one bag weighing up to the 15 kg limit than two bags of 7.5 kg each. Baggage charges are cheaper if you indicate that when buyin your ticket, rather than waiting until you check in.
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
805 posts
Nancie, I just read a book about the rise of low-cost airlines in Europe and to quote the chairman of RyanAir, their customer service policy is basically epitomized in the following statement from him: "We told you it's nonrefundable, go away."