Budget Travel - Experiences with baggage concerns with RYANAIR?

Has anyone had any major baggage concerns with Ryanair?

Their website states that one may only carry 20kg of baggage. And 1 carry-on. Those of us coming in from US/Canada already exceed that even with the new limited allowances.

How is Ryanair by the way?

Any airline you fly within Europe will have those same restrictions for Y and slightly better ones for Biz Class.

This is even true if it is the same airline you used to cross the pond. Take, for example, AF on a PHL-CDG-FRA itinerary and you will be allowed the two pieces of checked luggage unless you stop in Paris for a day or so. In that case, you will be allowed only the 20 kgs to FRA.

I can't tell you about Ryan Air specifically, but with the legacy carriers it is a matter of luck. Sometimes they won't pay much attention to the weight limits at check in, other times the very same airline will play hardball and charge you heavily for being overweight.

As far as the one piece of carry on is concerned, I have seen this enforced at check in but not anywhere else. The way to get around it is to take only one bag with you when you check in. (Have your travelling companion check in separately, holding your extra bag. Then you hold his when he goes to check in.)

The difference between Ryanair and most other carriers (except FlyBe) is that Ryanair will charge you even for that 20 kg. (It's a nominal charge for 20 kg, if you go over that you pay an arm and a leg). And I've noticed that since they started charging they have become a lot stricter over hand baggage limits.

Oh, and I've seen a Ryanair "hand baggage weigh point" once, at one of their regional airports, just before the security checkpoint. So the old well-known trick of getting someone else to hold your other piece of hand baggage won't necessarily work with them.

With rgards to legacy carriers...I've never put this to the test, but people tell me that you can usually get away with 25 kg.

As for "Those of us coming in from US/Canada already exceed that"... there is no law saying that you HAVE TO take your full allowance. Just travel light and you'll be OK!

Ryanair is pretty awful BTW.

Unfortunately Ryanair is the only carrier that flies from Pau to London Stansted directly.

I'm flying in from CPH and might just fly from there to LHR, and leave some things with my cousin, before flying to Pau the next day with just 'hand luggage'.

I suggest that you search the Boards for threads on Ryanair, of which there are many. If things go well, you will get a (hopefully) very cheap flight but if things go wrong, do not expect any support or assistance.

As for the baggage, as others have said they are very strict on the limits so I suggest that you check on their website to ensure that your luggage is fully compliant with their conditions.

Ryanair make their money from charging for overweight luggage therefore it's in their interest to weigh everything.

Note also that if there are 2 or more of you, you can't pool your weight allowances into one bag - so if your shared bag weighs 30kg they'll say that that is 10kg over.

Has anyone had any major baggage concerns with Ryanair?

Their website states that one may only carry 20kg of baggage. And 1 carry-on. Those of us coming in from US/Canada already exceed that even with the new limited allowances.

How is Ryanair by the way?
I know it won't work for you to Pau but as you'll be in Europe for 4 months, and you American chaps/esses are addicted to carry-on, it's worth checking out easyJet's hand baggage policy (http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Planning/baggage.html) where there is no weight limit as long as it fits the dimensions

My friend is traveling to Poland next week but will make a one day layover in the UK.
Because of his domestic travel with RyanAir (UK to Poland), he's only going to take 20kg baggage with him from the US.

Yes RyanAir will charge him for anything over, eventhough his originate is the US.

Yes RyanAir will charge him for anything over, eventhough his originate is the US.

Why should an airline (ANY airline) make an exception just because someone is coming from the US? Rules are rules and they apply to all.

My bag was 30kg and they waved it through. But I think I just got a real nice person at the gate.

As of November, the allowance will decrease again to 15 kg...
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=578258

At some stations, check-in-agents are obliged to generate 1 Euro/pax in average for overweight luggage.
Ryanair deducts this amount in advance from the payment to the handling company, and the handling agents do their very best to recollect the money from the passengers.

I flew Ryanair six months ago. The odds of getting baggage on the plane for free are about the same as getting struck by lightning. This is an airline that relies on baggage charges to generate substantial revenue.

Once you've checked in, I find it entertaining to watch passengers unaware of the baggage fees go postal on the Ryanair employees. :p

I flew RyanAir 6 times. Very bare-bones airplanes, mostly with seats that didn't recline, but I got the flights for $10-15 (including taxes).

As a gentleman next to me commented, it's great for $10, but sucks for 400 Euro.

I had 2 Ryanair flights in June and July of 2006, and both were without incident. Obviously I did not go expecting international coach or domestic first service, but they safely, efficiently, and respectfully delivered me to my destination for a low price, and I was able to choose the exit row!!! They were very strict on baggage weight, but I don't think on dimensions. While you can't pool baggage, they let you switch things among suitcases right in front of them after being weighed, so that is an option. If you are overweight though, it's a pain as you have to take the cost slip over to the ticket counter and pay, and then come back for your boarding pass. In Dublin and Baden-Baden, Germany no hand-luggage was weighed (maybe they will if it looks big, but I never saw it). So all in all, I was happy, and other than not getting a free can of soda, no worse in any way really than US domestic coach (Delta and UA are consistently more friendly, others hit or miss, but we had some very pleasant FAs on FR...the most annoying part is the loud announcements advertising their stuff for sale). If using DUB, get there early!!! We left on a Saturday morning around 6AM and even with 2 hours, were very rushed...at FKB we were way too early, but oh well (that is a great airport if you are in that area...most bash FR's regional airports, but this one is really conventiently located to Baden-Baden and the region, plus to taxi or security delays).

We also used Hapag-LLoyd express, which was significantly better than FR...better service options, drop-down LCD screens with ads and Airshow (flight plan, stats, maps...). They were amazing and the seats super comfortable! Those are my only euro lcc experiences, but I didn't have 1 problem (aside from the bomb scare in DUB on 7/4), just don't expect much and you'll be happy! Very truthfully though, they were better and more enjoyable than any RJ experience I've ever had, even only from ORD-MKE!

Just to point out that Ryanair's Cabin Baggage sizings are 2 inches smaller than most other airlines in two of the dimensions.

That means that your normally legal cabin bag may have to be checked in - at a cost of 5GBGP which then may lead to excess baggage charges - 5.50GBP per kilogram

Why should an airline (ANY airline) make an exception just because someone is coming from the US? Rules are rules and they apply to all.

The US Department of Transportation rules that travel to/from the US is piece based baggage rules rather than weight based (pretty much the rest of the world). They do permit limitations on pieces - currently they have approved 50#/23kg per piece.

This is even true if it is the same airline you used to cross the pond. Take, for example, AF on a PHL-CDG-FRA itinerary and you will be allowed the two pieces of checked luggage unless you stop in Paris for a day or so. In that case, you will be allowed only the 20 kgs to FRA.


If all travel is on the same ticket (so Ryanair never will be...) to/from the US the piece concept applies for the entire journey - so the example of PHL-CDG-FRA you are entitled to the PHL check-in limitations...

On another note .....

If you baggage is lost (read not loaded ) you can forget customer service etc...

We had a frined coming in for a wedding .. and her suitcase was starnded in London....no one new. Thank god another friend was flying out a bit later, he physically went to the luaggage loading area and convinced the guy to release the suitcase nad brought it along himslef ... :td:

If all travel is on the same ticket (so Ryanair never will be...) to/from the US the piece concept applies for the entire journey - so the example of PHL-CDG-FRA you are entitled to the PHL check-in limitations...

Unfortunately, that is not true.

Yes, if you are flying PHL-CDG-FRA with only a connection in Paris you would be entitled to the two pieces from CDG-FRA. If you decide to have a layover in Paris -- even for 24 hours -- your CDG-FRA limits are the same as if you had started the trip in Europe.

This is true even if all the flights are on the same ticket.

Unfortunately, that is not true.

Yes, if you are flying PHL-CDG-FRA with only a connection in Paris you would be entitled to the two pieces from CDG-FRA. If you decide to have a layover in Paris -- even for 24 hours -- your CDG-FRA limits are the same as if you had started the trip in Europe.

This is true even if all the flights are on the same ticket.


I am sure that the DOT would like to hear about experiences where this has happened.... My (not uneducated, but not overly educated :D ) understanding of the ruling is that it states the piece system applies for the journey's to/from the US irrespective of intermediate stops or how fares were used on the ticket (that is to say that it doesn't matter if PAR is a stopover on a PHL-FRA fare versus PAR as a fare break point - PHL-PAR fare end-on-end with a PAR-FRA fare).

That being said - you show up at an airport and most of the times you live by the rules of guy checking you in....

I am sure that the DOT would like to hear about experiences where this has happened.... My (not uneducated, but not overly educated :D ) understanding of the ruling is that it states the piece system applies for the journey's to/from the US irrespective of intermediate stops or how fares were used on the ticket (that is to say that it doesn't matter if PAR is a stopover on a PHL-FRA fare versus PAR as a fare break point - PHL-PAR fare end-on-end with a PAR-FRA fare).

That being said - you show up at an airport and most of the times you live by the rules of guy checking you in....

I have, unfortunately, had a lot of experience with this. I have been given the same answer by DL, AF, and AZ -- and I am referring to their offices in Tel Aviv, not the check in desks. (The same was true of Sabena and SwissAir when they were still in business.)

It is a major PITA for me because almost every year, between November and March, I go to FLL and then stop in MXP for a few weeks. I have to pack both for summer and winter and yet I am restricted to 20-23 kgs.

I am sure that the DOT would like to hear about experiences where this has happened....

I didn't think the US DOT had jurisdiction over flights between European countries operated by European carriers.

When the ticket has a US point on it - the US DOT feels they have jurisdiction over the passenger and "protecting" the passenger's rights.... The carriers that fly to/from the US have ticketing and baggage agreements with other carriers and that is what drives the ability for the US DOT to state its case - and to attempt to enforce its rules.....

But this is getting way off topic.... I am pretty sure that what I said is true in ruling if not practice... If I can find what the DOT ruling was or the IATA Resolution it was in response to I will start a new topic in a more appropriate forum....

I didn't think the US DOT had jurisdiction over flights between European countries operated by European carriers.


correct they just think they do like the US travellers we all see screaming the odds in European airports and on board tiny intra european planes about how they were allowed to check in in the US !!!!
and of course the classic "what is wrong with you people" like they are now talking to someone on another planet :D