Weight Restrictions for Check-in Baggage

Having just returned from a week’s holiday I’m happy to report we had no major problems and no need to make claims on our travel insurance! Thanks to Ryanair for safe and pleasant flights.

I have to say, though, that baggage issues were always on our minds for one reason or another. My travel companion decided to purchase a slightly larger wheelie case at the last minute. Admittedly, it was cheap, cheerful and very colourful – for easy identification - but it had already ripped along the top side by the time we returned. It has been returned and a sturdier suitcase will be purchased next time. We had the usual jitters about trying to keep within Ryanair’s 15kg weight limit for checked baggage – which is not always easy for a week’s trip. We spent the last few minutes before leaving home weighing ourselves on the bathroom scales and then weighing ourselves holding the luggage and subtracting the difference to check we were within the limit.

The weather forecast for Italy was not great, so we needed to pack for hot sun as well as cold and rain! We ended up using just about everything we packed as we swam in the Adriatic a couple of days and then covered up for the days of cooler weather with torrential rain and thunderstorms. You can take 10kg in hand luggage with Ryanair – which seems a bit disproportionate to the 15kg you can check in! A priority is to make sure your suitcase itself is not too heavy before you start adding your stuff. Let’s hope Ryanair will eventually follow Easy Jet’s footsteps and raise their allowance to 20kg, which is a much more comfortable amount. The airport security is still very tight, which is a good thing, of course, and you can only carry one piece of hand-luggage. Ladies must make sure they leave room to pack their shoulder bags inside a larger carry-on bag. Despite knowing the rules about taking liquids in carry-on luggage, a last-minute check revealed a can of shaving foam had stowed away and had to be repacked into the checked luggage.

We met two delightful Scottish couples in the check-in queue on the way back. The men had travelled with their full traditional clan clothing for an event. They were over their weight allowance and so had to remove the outfits from their cases and change into the heavy kilts, sporrens, etc. in front of a delighted audience! We noticed people using portable hand-held luggage scales to check their weight and repack luggage. One of their cases actually bent the hook on the scales so was obviously too heavy for Ryanair! The portable scales are a great idea for peace of mind and will definitely be on my shopping list for the next trip.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 10:38 am and is filed under Travel News, Traveller's Tales .

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