Ryanair-friendly carryon?
April 19, 2023 4:09 AM Subscribe
I am traveling to a conference in EU Country #1 this summer and then meeting up with family in EU Country #2 for a week's vacation. Family generously bought my ticket between Country 1 and 2 ... but it's on Ryanair and my carryon dimension doesn't meet their limits (55cm x 40 cm x 20 cm). Where can I get a Ryanair-friendly carryon in the US or online?
The toughest requirement seems to be the 20 cm limit (sub-8 inches). Every wheeled carryon I can find in the US have a depth of 9 inches and up, most are in the 10-11 inch range. Wheeled bag strongly preferred but I'll take a regular duffel in a pinch.
My last resort is to pony up the checked bag surcharge but I have had such bad luck with checking bags over the years, that I'd rather spend that money on a bag that I can keep with me.
The toughest requirement seems to be the 20 cm limit (sub-8 inches). Every wheeled carryon I can find in the US have a depth of 9 inches and up, most are in the 10-11 inch range. Wheeled bag strongly preferred but I'll take a regular duffel in a pinch.
My last resort is to pony up the checked bag surcharge but I have had such bad luck with checking bags over the years, that I'd rather spend that money on a bag that I can keep with me.
Ryanair give the option to do 'priority' boarding which comes with a larger carry on allowance, which I believe you can buy as an add on to a non-priority ticket. I flew from Stansted to Madrid with Ryanair yesterday and there was a big sign with a QR code near the checked bag drop area advertising this upgrade, or you can pay to upgrade at the gate (this usually happens to folks who haven't realised the non-priority ticket has a very small cabin bag allowance, at least three separate people on my flight yesterday were clearly very unhappy at having to pay extra to bring a bigger bag on board because they had non-priority tickets and hadn't realised how tiny the allowance was), or via the app if you have a Ryanair account. I strongly suspect it's cheaper to pay for this in advance rather than at the gate but I'm not 100% certain of the cost.
The 'priority' (scare quotes because yesterday more than 2/3 of the passengers had priority boarding, which is a weaksauce definition of priority imo, and also this whole thing seems like a naked cash grab given that it's a change to their cabin bag policies since I last flew with them in 2019 when you could take a normal sized carry on with any ticket) cabin bag allowance is much closer to standard cabin bag size on other airlines. Folks who had non-priority tickets yesterday (including us) were carrying on small side bags or backpacks, but nothing that looked like a wheeled carry on.
For what it's worth I've always had decent experiences with checked luggage via Ryanair.
Also this may be entirely moot (it could be a brexit thing) but if you need a visa to enter either of the countries you're travelling between, you need to go to the bag drop desk anyway to have your visa checked before going through security. We had fast track through security, and waiting in line for the bag drop/visa check desk was by far the longest part of the process, in case you need to budget extra time at the airport. Mentioning this just in case because again it seemed to catch out a few fellow travellers yesterday.
posted by terretu at 5:29 AM on April 19, 2023
The 'priority' (scare quotes because yesterday more than 2/3 of the passengers had priority boarding, which is a weaksauce definition of priority imo, and also this whole thing seems like a naked cash grab given that it's a change to their cabin bag policies since I last flew with them in 2019 when you could take a normal sized carry on with any ticket) cabin bag allowance is much closer to standard cabin bag size on other airlines. Folks who had non-priority tickets yesterday (including us) were carrying on small side bags or backpacks, but nothing that looked like a wheeled carry on.
For what it's worth I've always had decent experiences with checked luggage via Ryanair.
Also this may be entirely moot (it could be a brexit thing) but if you need a visa to enter either of the countries you're travelling between, you need to go to the bag drop desk anyway to have your visa checked before going through security. We had fast track through security, and waiting in line for the bag drop/visa check desk was by far the longest part of the process, in case you need to budget extra time at the airport. Mentioning this just in case because again it seemed to catch out a few fellow travellers yesterday.
posted by terretu at 5:29 AM on April 19, 2023
Response by poster: My ticket says "Priority + 2 Cabin Bags" which according to the website means "Passengers with Priority & 2 Cabin Bags, a Regular Fare/Flexi Plus or a connecting flight ticket can bring 1 small cabin bag which must fit under the seat in front of them (40cm x 20cm x 25cm). Priority customers can also bring an additional 10kg bag on board which must fit into the baggage sizer (not exceeding 10kg and dimensions 55cm x 40cm x 20cm) and will be stored in the overhead locker."
The only larger dimension I can see online is for the checked bag add-on (119cm x 119cm x 81 cm).
No visa involved.
posted by basalganglia at 5:53 AM on April 19, 2023
The only larger dimension I can see online is for the checked bag add-on (119cm x 119cm x 81 cm).
No visa involved.
posted by basalganglia at 5:53 AM on April 19, 2023
Best answer: Some more:
- this one is 7.9", which is juuust over 20cm and might be too close. In one of the pictures it says 20 cm though, so hopefully the 7.9 is just a rounding-up.
- here are four collapsible (!) ones, all possibly more expensive than buying a flight on a different airline, and here's a knockoff (I think). This one is the cheapest and collapsible in a different way - I can't tell if there's a middle ground between fully collapsed and fully open.
- here's a duffel with wheels.
- 7.9 again
- an underseat 7" version of the above and an underseat structured duffel
Caveat - I haven't checked the height and width on all of these, just the depth.
posted by trig at 6:10 AM on April 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
- this one is 7.9", which is juuust over 20cm and might be too close. In one of the pictures it says 20 cm though, so hopefully the 7.9 is just a rounding-up.
- here are four collapsible (!) ones, all possibly more expensive than buying a flight on a different airline, and here's a knockoff (I think). This one is the cheapest and collapsible in a different way - I can't tell if there's a middle ground between fully collapsed and fully open.
- here's a duffel with wheels.
- 7.9 again
- an underseat 7" version of the above and an underseat structured duffel
Caveat - I haven't checked the height and width on all of these, just the depth.
posted by trig at 6:10 AM on April 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Ryanair sells a few options, maybe you could find these online in the US?
posted by ssg at 6:17 AM on April 19, 2023
posted by ssg at 6:17 AM on April 19, 2023
If you have a little time, it might be worth ordering from a European brand that makes cases to those requirements plus gives dimensions in cm. Travelite suitcases have a good reputation and a decent variety of economy-airline carry ons. Ryanair makes a lot of money on extra-luggage fees and their cabin crew has an eagle eye for spotting items even 1cm over those requirements.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 6:18 AM on April 19, 2023
posted by I claim sanctuary at 6:18 AM on April 19, 2023
Sorry if this is stating the obvious, but...
I recently discovered a whole genre of luggage that is specifically designed to be exactly the proportions of carry on luggage for major airlines, and they're very searchable on Amazon in the UK. I don't know if any will pop up for you in the US, but if you've not already, try sticking "ryan air cabin bags 55cm x 40cm x 20cm" into Amazon and you might find some of them.
posted by penguin pie at 6:31 AM on April 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
I recently discovered a whole genre of luggage that is specifically designed to be exactly the proportions of carry on luggage for major airlines, and they're very searchable on Amazon in the UK. I don't know if any will pop up for you in the US, but if you've not already, try sticking "ryan air cabin bags 55cm x 40cm x 20cm" into Amazon and you might find some of them.
posted by penguin pie at 6:31 AM on April 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
There are bags available from US-based eBay sellers which are described as being 55x40x20. I'm sure you could find more if you figured out a good search term in inches.
However, at least one of the bags linked above is actually larger than the size stated in the description so check the description and pictures carefully. I know you prefer wheels, but this rucksack is clearly designed to be exactly at the Ryanair maximum and will maximise your packing space.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:47 AM on April 19, 2023
However, at least one of the bags linked above is actually larger than the size stated in the description so check the description and pictures carefully. I know you prefer wheels, but this rucksack is clearly designed to be exactly at the Ryanair maximum and will maximise your packing space.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 6:47 AM on April 19, 2023
TravelPro also makes bags that they call "international" or "global" carry-on sized, smaller than what is considered a carry-on in the US. Here is a selection; not all of these are quite small enough for your specs but several of them are. Travelpro is a solid brand with good warranties (and they even sell replacement parts for e.g. wheels) so it's not a bad investment.
posted by Jemstar at 8:01 AM on April 19, 2023
posted by Jemstar at 8:01 AM on April 19, 2023
You can literally type those dimensions into the amazon search bar, (perhaps also in inches, 22x16x8). Here in Europe that's how I buy carry ons. If in doubt, search an EU amazon site with cm, and then change ".nl" or ".fr" or whatever to ".com" and see if the us store has the same thing.
If you are ok without wheels, i think these are common dimensions for cabinmax backpacks.
Same with ebay.
posted by melamakarona at 1:52 PM on April 19, 2023
If you are ok without wheels, i think these are common dimensions for cabinmax backpacks.
Same with ebay.
posted by melamakarona at 1:52 PM on April 19, 2023
PS This is hard to resist, even if not appropriate for a conference
https://www.ebay.com/itm/233079184800?hash=item36449a1da0:g:ojwAAOSw2xlcLdGP
I have been happy with the travelite brand, but I am not sure those are available in the US.
posted by melamakarona at 2:04 PM on April 19, 2023
https://www.ebay.com/itm/233079184800?hash=item36449a1da0:g:ojwAAOSw2xlcLdGP
I have been happy with the travelite brand, but I am not sure those are available in the US.
posted by melamakarona at 2:04 PM on April 19, 2023
Response by poster: Thanks to trig's Amazon sleuthing, I ended up buying this -- the "tote bag" was pretty useless (I brought my laptop bag instead), but the actual carryon was the right size and holds a surprising amount of stuff -- enough for a 10 day trip where I did laundry about halfway through! It's not the sturdiest bag in the world, but both of us made it back stateside in one piece, so good enough.
posted by basalganglia at 6:17 PM on June 14, 2023
posted by basalganglia at 6:17 PM on June 14, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
I recently flew with Easyjet and was nearly caught out by their cabin bag restrictions. I had chosen the default option when I booked the flight, which turned out to be "small" cabin baggage. The night before leaving, I realised that my carry-on bag was bigger than that. It turned out Easyjet also have an option to have a "large" carry on bag, for an additional fee. I don't know if Ryanair do something similar, but it might be worth checking out. They are a direct competitor to Easyjet in the UK so may be set up in a broadly similar way.
The "large' carry-on bag that I ended up taking was big enough to have wheels.
posted by damsel with a dulcimer at 4:54 AM on April 19, 2023