Great Western Coffee Shop

Size matters: Which airlines are best for hand baggage?

(http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/77557000/jpg/_77557961_200259633-001.jpg)

Will it fit? The question, and the anxiety behind it, is familiar to every air traveller in the 21st century.

For who can say they have not inwardly trembled as an airline official directs them to the measuring cage - knowing they may face a hefty surcharge?

Such is the variation in the maximum dimensions for cabin baggage, that passengers might now logically chose to have a different suitcase for every airline.

According to a BBC survey of 17 major European airlines, the Spanish carrier Iberia is the most generous for cabin baggage, and the UK airlines Thomas Cook and Thomson are the meanest.

One surprise is that the low cost airline Ryanair is not at the bottom of the list, in spite of its previous reputation for high baggage and other charges.

Easyjet's position in the table is less clear cut. It will allow a relatively large cabin bag, and is one of the few airlines not to impose a formal weight limit. But passengers are also advised to take a smaller bag - to avoid the possibility of the bag being put in the hold at the last minute.

Typically, carriers will let you stow a bag up to 55cm tall, 40 cm wide and 20 centimetres deep. Remember these are not the sizes of the empty bag when you buy it. It has to fit the frame when fully packed - and that includes the handles or any other sticky out bits.

When it comes to the weight of your hand baggage, some airlines will allow you anything you can comfortably lift. Others allow just five kilogrammes. And beware: Many older bags can weigh as much as five kilogrammes before you even put anything in them.

You may get away with it and breeze onto the plane with far more than you are allowed. But it is a risk. You could well have your dimensions tested at the gate - in which case breaking the well-advertised rules could land you with a hefty supplement of some ^50.

Frank Brehany is the consumer director of HolidayTravelWatch, an organisation that aims to help holidaymakers with travel problems. He says if anything there are too few checks being carried out at the gate. That is because out-sized bags can cause injury to other passengers. There have been occasions when consumers have reported an injury as a result of a heavy item falling down on arrival," he says. "Others have been hurt because the owner cannot manage the weight of the bag. The weight can even cause the overhead bin to open."

To make matters worse, the rules are not always enforced consistently.

Sean Tipton from ABTA - the travel association - says it often depends on the airline staff member at the boarding gate. "Some seem to be more lax than others, but you can't rely on that. Check out the policy first, because if you do get caught out we are talking about a substantial amount of money," he says.

The industry defends the inconsistency in hand baggage allowances, saying it is a direct result of the wide variation in the amount of space in the overhead bins on different aircraft. This argument is weakened by the fact that most carriers fly several different aircraft types. But there is likely to be little appetite within the industry for uniform size restrictions.

"I am absolutely convinced the airlines would object to the proposal. And MPs and the government would support this," says Frank Brehany.

Nevertheless, to ensure it is not your luggage that is squeezed out when all the overhead lockers are full, do get to the boarding gate in good time. Suffering the indignity of having to turn out your possessions in public - or even having them shoved into the hold at the last moment is not going to be the best start to your trip.

I'm flying hand luggage only with Ryanair in October from Bristol, and am allowed 55x40x20 cm for my bag plus one smaller piece which I've forgotten the dimensions.

What I've noticed is all the suitcases advertised as hand luggage size in shops are 55x40x25cm. I can't find any airline allowing bigger than the 20cm dimension though.

I can't complain at Ryanair to be fair though looking at the overall picture. I'm taking my daughter to see my grandad in Crete at half term and it's cost me less than ^100 return each (including paying the extra for pre booked seats). Easyjet from London or Manchester wanted close to ^400 return each. Thomson came up at ^600 each return!

Last time I bought a new suitcase they had a list of all airlines current requirements and a colour coding system to identify which ones met these requirements.  Can't remember the name of the store but it was in the outlet village in Swindon.

As for the high prices by Easyjet and Thomson  - this shows that their flights are nearly full!  Perhaps Ryanair is not nearly full - wonder why that might be? 

Hi All,
Just flew to Warsaw Modlin with Ryan Air was a bit apprehensive has it was my first time
Bought a bag from Tesco Direct which is one of the lightest because Ryan Air has a weight limit of 10Kg it is currently out of stock http://www.tesco.com/direct/it-luggage-worlds-lightest-suitcase-black-small/307-2511.prd?pageLevel=&skuId=307-2511
It fits the dimensions but you must not overfill it.
The other bag could be a medium carrier bag.
There was no problem with this bag

Basset

How did you find Ryanair - its my first time 6 weeks from today with them

And they're famous for punctuality

I've used Ryanair a lot from various UK airports to Spain and they're fine as long as you play by their rules.
One thing that was different this year was a lot of people being forced to put their carry on in the hold (at no charge) because the flight 'was full'.
There is plenty of press on this, eg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10843238/Ryanairs-baggage-policy-angers-passengers.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10843238/Ryanairs-baggage-policy-angers-passengers.html) largely blaming it on the new policy of being allowed a 2nd small carry on item.
We were hit with this on both legs of our holiday this year and ended up having to put one carry on in the hold (there being three of us).

A few years ago I and three companions, one of whom was wheelchair bound, flew from Stansted to Santiago de Compostela. We booked disabled assistnance and the Ryanair staff were very helpful. We had the first three rows inside the front door (18 seats) to ourselves so were able to spread out but nearly all the seats behind were occupied. Some other people tried to join us but a member of the crew told them the seats were reserved leaving me slightly uncomforable. I therefore have only compliments on my admittedly very limited Ryanair experience.

Option 1: ONE piece of cabin baggage no bigger than 50 x 40 x 20cm including handles and wheels. Guaranteed to always travel with you in the cabin.

Option 2: ONE piece of cabin baggage within our maximum allowed size limitations, 56 x 45 x 25cm including handles and wheels. On some busy flights your bag may have to go into the hold, at no extra cost.

For Christmas a few years back, our "kids" clubbed together to buy us a pair of Samsonite hand-baggage size cases. .

Ryanair try selling Samsonite hand baggage cases as an add on if you don't select a hold luggage. (I noticed the advert in amongst every other add on sale they tried such as car parking, transfers, hotels, car hire, charity donations, priority boarding)
I'm pretty certain the only thing they didn't try and sell me was the actual plane!

It's well known, FTN, that Ryanair do such big deals with Boeing (and play them off against Airbus each time) that they pay nothing like that for each of their 737-800's. Industry rumours have long suggested that Mr O'Leary gets about a 50% volume discount.

It's also a part of their ruthless business model that they only keep most of their aircraft until (expensive) heavy checks become due, then hand them back to the lessors - a bit like getting rid of your car before the expensive major services come around. On average, I understand this equates to a life in Ryanair colours of around 6 years....although it's hours flown and cycles (take-off's and landings) that determine when the checks are needed.

Sorry for going off thread a bit ;-)

It's well known, FTN, that Ryanair do such big deals with Boeing (and play them off against Airbus each time) that they pay nothing like that for each of their 737-800's. Industry rumours have long suggested that Mr O'Leary gets about a 50% volume discount.

It's also a part of their ruthless business model that they only keep most of their aircraft until (expensive) heavy checks become due, then hand them back to the lessors - a bit like getting rid of your car before the expensive major services come around. On average, I understand this equates to a life in Ryanair colours of around 6 years....although it's hours flown and cycles (take-off's and landings) that determine when the checks are needed.

Sorry for going off thread a bit ;-)