calvinshuhfc

I will be flying BT in a week and I just wonder how strict are they on carry on bags? Some airlines allow you to bring a suitcase AND a small bag despite saying only one carry on is allowed, but for example ryanair will force you to stuff all your things into one single item or it will charge you. Which type is it for airbaltic?

Thank you!!

calvinshuhfc

No one knows?

tiltslope

Slightly unfair to answer as I do not have first hand experience, but with no replies I try my best. At airports I have heard in the announcement specified "one carry-on bag only". Acquaintances have told and people in social media written that depending on airports, it may be implemented very strictly.

Some have even said, that additionally bought cheched baggage has not shown in BT system and they have had to pay again, complain and fight later for refund. In the summer I tried for interest both Ryanair and Air Baltic luggage racks and BT was smaller. These things have made me believe that BT tries to rake extra money as much as possible. I would be careful!

calvinshuhfc

Thank you for stepping up when no one did....greatly appreciate it!! I will be flying from RIX I don't know how strict it will be? But either way while I enjoy bringing one suitcase plus a small bag with me, I will refrain from buying too many things in Riga and make sure everything will be able to stuff into my suitcase if I have to.

Thank you again!

calvinshuhfc

No one probably cared but I thought I would update here anyway.

I boarded my flight from RIX with ease. I brought along my suitcase and my backpack I wasn't stopped in any way. I was also asked to weigh my suitcase and it was a bit overweight as a hand carry luggage but the check in agent also didn't ask me to drop anything or make it a checked baggage, so I counted myself quite lucky here.

The flight was a bit delayed but otherwise it was perfectly fine. I was surprised about the legroom on the Dash 8. I tried OV's E70 and AY/BE's ATR and they offer very limited legroom, whereas on the Dash it is very generous!

Tizzette

Did you pay anything extra to bring aboard the suitcase? Or buy a ticket class above the least expensive that might have included a checked bag? What was the weight allowance for the suitcase you brought on board?

calvinshuhfc

I bought the cheapest ticket possible, which did not allow checked bags; thus I did not check my suitcase in and I brought that with me as a carry-on.

I believe my suitcase was around 8kg in weight... if I remember correctly.

Tizzette

Thanks, Calvin.

calvinshuhfc

You are very welcome have a nice flight.

jason8612

I will be flying RIX-WAW next week and I got the Samsonite Short Lite bag. It's 55x36x23. I was wondering how accurate their sizers are? apparently this bag fits in the Ryanair sizers which are 55x40x20 and if I push down on the front of it, I get it to 19cm.
And are their any rules for a DH4? Aircraft check I assume?

The Specialist

Only just come across this thread. BT are very strict at the gate. I found this both at LGW and RIX earlier last year. Quite a few pax were having to either rearrange bags into one or gate check them and pay by credit card at the gate.

jason8612

OK. So 1 bag. No problem there.
I'll check my bag again at KRK in the Ryanair sizer (as they are the same size) but at home my bag does make the cut.

jason8612

to update:

My bag did fit in the Ryanair sizer and the Air Baltic sizer (which felt slightly smaller than the Ryanair one...). No issues in WAW or in RIX. Noone checked, noone weighed it, no sizer check, nothing.
Actually I was a bit disappointed they didn't check other people's bags. They were quite lax on the checks. Looked like lots of carry-ons were over the size limit (and judging by the bulging on some the weight).

R7U

Air Baltic is strict in Germany. Once I flew from Berlin to Riga they put my suitcase to the scale. My suitcase was fortunately only 6 kilos but some other passengers had some problems.

UltraRant

Just stumbled upon this thread. As I'm suddenly flying AirBaltic a lot these days (I was actually here to look for experiences with their FQTV program) I can actually provide a bit more information here.

The strictness of BT seems to be varying from airport to airport, or even from agent to agent. So far I haven't had any issues yet, but staff at the hub (RIX) has been the most strict so far. Staff in OSL can't care less, TLL doesn't seem to care either. VNO has been stricter a few times (no scale, just size). LGW also wanted to have a second look at my luggage but let me go through.

When it comes to a second item (handbag, laptop case): I haven't had any issue with that either. Usually (especially on almost fully booked aircraft) I only get the request to store that one under the seat in front of me. I've spotted a few people with two backpacks or a suitcase and a (small) backpack and it seems to have been no issue.

The same actually goes for the printing of the boarding passes. According to the rules you need to do this at home with a few of their tickets (those hand luggage only, no frills ones). So far only staff in VNO gave any trouble when I hadn't done that. Even in RIX staff at the check in and transfer center were willing to help me (without any additional costs).