I finally did it: I bought tickets on RyanAir. The outskirt cities and flight times were right, and the fare beat the train.

But I'm worried. RyanAir's business model is that a lot of passengers get a great deal but a few passengers get ripped off by confiscatory add-on charges at the airport and swear never to fly RyanAir again. Nobody on the airplane pays a fair price for the trip. The price is always too high or too low.

This business model strikes me as fundamentally dishonest, not to mention being murder on employees and customers alike. I prefer not to do business with dishonest companies unless I can be certain that I will be ripping them off rather than vice versa. At FlyerTalk, that mission is right up our alley!

I've read many of the posts about RyanAir in this forum. It appears the main pitfalls are:
1. Forgetting or losing your home-printed boarding pass: about $100
2. Hand luggage exceeding 10.00 kg or not fitting into the 55x40x20 cm sizing box: about $60
3. Neglecting to get the visa stamp outside security or forgetting travel documents
4. Arriving at the gate too late (due to item 3 or any other reason): purchase of a new trip
5. Checking luggage too heavy or too late for cutoff

The hardest of these seems to be the 55x40x20 cm size. The 55 and 20 dimensions are smaller than standard carry-ons, and I have not found a wheeled carry-on less than 56 cm. Close but no cigar.

Several companies in the UK make lightweight bags specifically for these requirements, but none of them deliver to the USA within less than a month. Fortunately I have relatives able to take delivery in Europe and give me the bag when I arrive. Prices on eBay run about $20 delivered for a collapsible nylon bag (a rectangular duffle) able to use the full 55x40x20 cm. At that size overstuffing the bag should not be necessary. I discovered that one can order eBay items for delivery in Europe if one starts at the eBay site for the delivery country, e.g. ebay.co.uk.

As to the boarding passes, I plan to print them days ahead of time and place one full set (for all travelers) in each passenger's bag. That should cover us.

Have I missed anything to complete my battle plan?