Will Ryan Air Take Our Bags?

April 13, 2023 4:43 PM

We are flying on Ryan Air from Wales to Ireland next week and Mr Darling is concerned that they may not take our American sized luggage. For reference, we both have the 21 inch Travelpro bag. Please tell me Ryan Air isn't going to refuse to take them!
posted by tafetta, darling! to Travel & Transportation around Wales (10 answers total)

Ryanair baggage policy.

Check your booking and see what luggage you’ve reserved, and add (+ pay for) more in advance if you need to. Ryanair’s included-in-all-tickets hand luggage size is pretty small and budget airlines are usually pretty strict. They probably won’t refuse to take an oversized bag, but if you turn up at the gate and it doesn’t fit in the wire frame thing, they’ll charge you a significant sum (£69.99 per bag, by the look of that page) and take it off you to put in the hold.

Note that nobody will check the size of your hand luggage until you’re at the gate and about to board - it’s perfectly possible to arrive at the gate with oversized luggage, and most flights have at least one poor person attempting to ram an oversized bag into the frame, frantically donning more clothes etc.

You can check for yourself if you go to the check in/bag drop area before security and try the wire frame there. Make sure you use the RyanAir one though, as all airlines are not the same and Ryanair is the smallest.
posted by penguin pie at 4:56 PM on April 13, 2023

(I’ve assumed you’re talking about hand luggage?)
posted by penguin pie at 4:58 PM on April 13, 2023

The link to your bag is broken, so I don't want to assume based on what I'm googling -- but my personal experience with RyanAir is that they are pretty strict on the sizes for carry-on/hand luggage. They won't refuse to take it but they may refuse to accept it into the cabin.
posted by sm1tten at 5:15 PM on April 13, 2023

Have you purchased "priority and 2 cabin bags"? You need that to even have a chance of it being accepted in the cabin. Otherwise you may be able to pay in advance for it to be checked in. Check online. Paying at the airport will be extremely expensive as the fee is intended to be a disincentive.

The max dimensions for the larger 10kg cabin bag is 55x40x20cm. Compare those against your bag.
posted by knapah at 5:57 PM on April 13, 2023

If it's this bag, then the 23cm depth will be too big for the carry on dimensions, even if you pay for full size cabin baggage. If you get to the gate with it and you're told to check it against the sizer, you will be paying £45.99 to gate check it.

It's fine for checking in, and you can do that in the app up to 40 minutes before departure, but probably better and cheaper to do it soon. Normal limits to check-in luggage dimensions (i.e. pretty huge) apply to the 20kg checked baggage option.
posted by ambrosen at 12:03 AM on April 14, 2023

Ryanair has three sizes of bags and without knowing what baggage allowance you've paid for on your ticket or whether you're asking about cabin or hold luggage there isn't a simple answer of whether they'll take your bags. The three sizes are:

• small personal bag - all tickets include one of these as carry-on but they are only 40x25x20 cm maximum size
• cabin bag - the "priority and 2 cabin bags" option includes one of these as carry-on with a maximum size of 55x40x20 cm
• check-in bag - you generally pay extra for this unless you have bought a 'plus' ticket. It goes in the hold and the maximum size is 120x120x80 cm

Your link is currently broken, but it looks like it should go to this Amazon page which lists the size of your case as 23.5x14.5x9 inches which converts to roughly 57x37x24 cm. This means that the only way to take your case on the flight is to check it in as hold luggage and it won't be accepted as cabin baggage.

In the last few years I have seen people boarding Ryanair with bags that looked slightly oversized and gate staff seem to be a little less strict than they used to be; five or ten years ago staff would check every single cabin bag in the frame and had zero tolerance for bags that didn't fit. However, I would not risk it since they do still pull travelers up particularly for breaking the 55x40x20 cm limit and the excess charges are very high at the gate.

Be aware that the weight limits may also be lower than you're used to, both for cabin bags and check-in bags.

Have a good trip!
posted by Busy Old Fool at 12:27 AM on April 14, 2023 [3 favorites]

In my recent experience, if has been unusual to get on any Ryan Air flight that is not 100% full. So, the idea of "my oversized piece of cabin baggage is bound to fit in somewhere"- can run into problems. It is really common to see somebody who has one of these bags - but the reason why I notice them is that the thing is causing some kind of problem. I guess, for piece of mind, I would either pack something smaller or pay up to put your bigger back in the hold.
posted by rongorongo at 12:27 AM on April 14, 2023

Mod note: Fixed the Amazon link.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane (staff) at 3:35 AM on April 14, 2023

Amazon says: 9 x 14.5 x 23.5 inches (the wheels also count). That's 22.86 x 36.83 x 59.69 cm. RyanAir approved luggage dimensions are 20 x 40 x 55 cm. You'll either have to pack something smaller, or check in your luggage as the "20kg Check-in Bag".
posted by gakiko at 5:02 AM on April 14, 2023

So I don't think you'll get a definitive answer here, there is so much individual discretion on the part of gate attendants: some may be hardasses, some could care less, it's a crap-shoot

Having said that, based on my past experiences with Ryan Air, you should assume and prepare for the worst possibility possible.
posted by jeremias at 9:59 AM on April 14, 2023