One More Reason to Master the Art of Packing Light

ryanair invasion
Originally uploaded by paolo màrgari » www.paolomargari.tk

When I flew to Dublin on Ryanair I took one small carry-on suitcase. I was only going from Friday to Sunday but I wanted to be well prepared: two pairs of shoes, a few change of clothes, make-up bag and a hair straightener. All together that’s 11kg. I know this because it was weighed and stamped with a bright orange ‘overweight’ sticker.

This meant that I was over the 10kg limit allotted to me by Ryanair. I thought they’d make me check it (for €10) or worse, not let me take it on to the plane. But they didn’t do any of that. I walked into the cabin, threw it up in the overheard compartment and was on my way.

Now they want to charge me for that.

Checking a bag will cost between 10 and 20 Euros, but anyone caught trying to sneak too much into the cabin can pay the 30 Euro fine, or stay home, because not paying the fine = no travel for you.

The system appears to be pretty well planned, as it does not seem like you are able to check the excess cabin baggage once on board - which should force people to just pay the checked bag fee instead of trying to take a chance the flight attendant won't notice your massive bags. [Source]

I understand the need for it. On that one flight I saw more flagrant violations of requirements. But on the other hand, I’m a little angry. The list of additional fees for Ryanair is substantial—if you’re not a European citizen, checking a bag, airport check-in, etc and so forth—now they want to charge me to bring anything. Sometimes hair straighteners and shoes weigh more than they should, but should we really be punished for that?