Ryanair reduces checked bag fees, restricts 2nd carry-on to Priority Boarding pax
 

This does not surprise me.

Passengers have been pushing their luck by taking advantage of the quick turnaround times and taking various sizes of luggage, hoping they will just be pushed on the plane to get in the air again without checks.

You're lucky if Ryanair take a good look at your passport at the gate. In the past few years, my bag has never been sized or weight checked.

For those that followed the rules this is a bit... unfair. Now, if you don't buy the priority boarding, you are only allowed to take a small bag to the aircraft (35cm x 20cm x 20cm).

Not very good for those weekend getaways on those late Friday night flights.

I totally agree. I have always been precise about sizes and weight.

I imagine the priority queue will get much longer now.

You'll still be able to take 2 bags with you, except one of them will go in the hold at the gate. You can always take one bag with you and that will go on board.

Yes, but the size of the bag you are now allowed to take to the plane is really small (and not enough for a weekend getaway). So you will need to wait in the airport to retrieve your carry-on bag - should it still be called carry-on if now it goes to the hold? :)

I would guess that at least on some routes/at some airports these gate-checked bags may be returned at the aircraft steps on arrival, so the affected customers may not have to go through the entire luggage reclaim process.

However, if it was crucial that you had your rollaboard on board with you, you were probably paying for Priority Boarding already, anyway. Or if a quick getaway on arrival was important, you were probably paying for a seat near the front that came with Priority Boarding.

Just to clear up any confusion - if you take ONE bag, does it have to be 35x20x20 or can it be the standard size of 55x40x20?

I read the press release from Ryanair and all the references to a smaller carry on bag are done with respect to pax having 2 bags.

I almost always select Priority Boarding with Ryanair away but just wanted to be sure.

If you only have one bag, it can be 55x40x20. If you have two, the larger one will go into the hold at the gate.

Interested to see what they do with those taking a rucksack. I usually take a rucksack that is larger than the "small bag" size but smaller than the "large bag" size. So from the policy this bag would now have to be checked into the hold (for free) at the gate.

However when travelling with this bag I've never been prevented from taking it into the hold even when the "90 bag" limit has been reached. I've been told previously that they don't put rucksacks in the hold at the gate, because they need to be wrapped in plastic so that the straps do not catch in the luggage belts and they do not have this equipment at the gates. I wonder if that will still be the case, or if they will just check it in anyway and hope that it does not jam up the luggage belts?

Certainly when I've taken the same bag as checked luggage, it has been wrapped in plastic first.

I have the same issue as the poster above. I often use Ryanair as positioning for long haul ex-EU flights and have never had my rucksack measured even when boarding last (it's around 55x35x25). As I'm usually travelling for a couple of weeks through multiple destinations with everything in that bag, I don't want it going anywhere near the hold for risk of it going missing.

I think this needs to be clarified a little better. The official Ryanair release seems to consider that everyone without exception travels with a wheelie case and a second bag, and thus non-priority passengers get the wheelie gate checked for free, and can only bring on board the smaller second bag. But if your first - and only - bag is not a wheelie, the implication is that this also needs to be checked unless handbag sized.

I could see this coming, sadly. People taking the you-know-what ruining things for those of us who play by the rules.

Deleted.

The press release is poorly worded and that's what creates the uncertainty regarding a single bag (they keep talking in terms of pax having two bags - one large and small). That's why I asked the question above about if you have one bag and the answer given is that a single bag can still be 55x40x20 without having to be checked into the hold.

Even though I use a Travelon carry-on for convenience alongside my Samsonite 55x40x20 case, I always make sure it can be stuffed in the Samsonite if need be.

Wrong. As a non-priority customer, the only hand luggage you are allowed to take on board is a small 35 x 20 x 20cm piece.

Although the press release is an unfortunate mess, the rest of their communication is very clear (video, FB page replies).

I guess if you're happy to travel in the hold, they don't mind how big your bag is!!! :D