Ryanair's 2019 "small bag" allowance vs sizer (confusing)
Ryanair's new policies (in force since November 2018) allow only one "small bag" for passenger (unless he purchases priority or other extras).
However, I'm confused about its sizes. The official statement (here and here) says:
We have increased the size of the free small carry-on bag by over 40% from 35 x 20 x 20cm (14,000 cm³) to 40 x 20 x 25cm (20,000 cm³).
We have almost doubled the size of our small bag sizer from 35 x 20 x 20cm (14,000 cm³) to 42 x 20 x 30 cm (25,200 cm³) to allow carry-on bags that are considerably (25%) larger than our permitted small bag dimensions. (See diagram)
I couldn't find the answer to the simple, obvious question ensuing: can I bring a bag sized 42x20x30cm? Such a bag would fit the sizer but exceed the allowance. Why do they give two maximum sizes? Which one is the actual one? Gosh, seems like they just want to lure customers into making mistakes.
Best Answer
I remember the first time I flew Ryanair: They had a baggage sizer at the gate and many passengers were trying to push their non-hardcase, fully stuffed hand luggage suitcases into the sizer. Some managed to squeeze it in, some didn't. All the bags were bulging heavily.
My guess is that this is at least part of the reason for the sizer being bigger than the official size: a non-hardcase bag won't stay rectangular when being filled.
Therefore, I agree with Nate Eldredge: bringing a larger sized bag is at your own risk. If you take a bag sized 42x20x30cm when empty and heavy stuffing brings the last dimension up to 31cm, then you're out of luck. If that happens to your 40x20x25cm-bag, it's 40x20x26cm and will still fit comfortably in the sizer.
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How strict are Ryanair on hand luggage size?
Ryanair are very strict and state that if you are permitted to take a small personal bag only, you'll be limited to dimensions of 40cm x 25cm x 20xm. Your bag must fit in the sizer and so be easily stored underneath the seat in front of you.Is Ryanair baggage allowance combined?
Customers can pool or share their purchased baggage allowance with other passengers included in the same flight reservation when checking-in together. For example, if a reservation has two checked bags of 20kg (40 kg in total) one of the bags could weigh 15kg and the other 25kg (40 kg in total).What size is Ryanair small bag?
Non-priority customers can only bring one small bag (40cm x 20cm x 25cm), that must fit into the sizer. If non-priority customers want to bring a second bigger bag, they can purchase a lower cost 10kg check-in bag at the time of booking online.What is the free baggage allowance on Ryanair?
Ryanair baggage allowance, size & feesClassDimensionsWeightCabin Baggage Allowance40cm x 25cm x 20cm10kgChecked Baggage Allowance (priority)55cm x 40cm x 20cm10kgChecked Baggage Allowance81cm x 119cm x 119cm10kg-20kgExcess Baggage Allowance81cm x 119cm x 119cm30kgTravel Day - Ryanair Flight to IBIZA, WORST Turbulence EVER!
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