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UNFAIR RYANAIR

How to work out Ryanair’s baffling baggage rule changes as customers have to pay at least £8 per person from November

BAFFLED Ryanair customers have contacted us after struggling to work out the latest change in the budget airline’s baggage rules.

In a Travel Challenge special this week, we reveal readers who have booked flights that depart from November 1 must pay at least £8 per person to take luggage on board — which they have already paid for.

 Ryanair customers flying from the 1st of November will have to abide by the new baggage allowance rules
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Ryanair customers flying from the 1st of November will have to abide by the new baggage allowance rulesCredit: Reuters

The budget carrier has cut the amount of baggage included in their ticket price by nearly two thirds — from a sensible 58 litres to a stingy 20 litres.

If you have booked a flight departing any time on or after November 1 you will only be allowed one 40x20x25cm size bag that will fit under the seat, making it all but impossible for travellers to avoid forking out for extra luggage.

What’s worse, Ryanair says that it will not honour the minimum luggage allowance customers have already paid for (one small carry on and larger bag checked at the gate), telling them to pay up for extra luggage or cancel their booking.

To add insult to injury, passengers will be charged an extra £2 per person for not ordering their luggage when they booked their flight. Even though, at the time of booking, they will have paid for a ticket that included one small carry-on bag and one bigger wheelie bag.

 Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has been accused of trying to squeeze more money out of passengers
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Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has been accused of trying to squeeze more money out of passengersCredit: Reuters

Passengers who pay for priority boarding (one wheelie bag and one small bag) on the day of booking pay £6, but Ryanair is asking customers to pay the “added after booking” fee of £8, instead.

The same goes for passengers who opt for hold luggage, where passengers who pay to check in a 10kg bag will have to pay £10 instead of the £8 that they could have paid if they had known of the new luggage limit when booking their ticket! Ryanair’s baffling passenger dealings do not end there.

Ryanair passengers sit and even lie down on luggage carousel as they wait hours for their bags at Berlin airport

From the time the airline announced its rule change in a press release on August 23, up until today, it has been taking bookings on its website under the misleading claim that passengers can take two bags aboard with the larger one checked at the gate.

This week we went through the booking process, for a flight after November 1, and at no point were we warned about the updated baggage policy. Instead, Ryanair’s website advertised its current luggage policy that is set to finish on October 31.

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But keep calm & carry on

 The only bag we could find that fits the exact dimensions is the tool bag from Tool Tech which has a shoulder strap and plenty of pockets
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The only bag we could find that fits the exact dimensions is the tool bag from Tool Tech which has a shoulder strap and plenty of pocketsCredit: Handout
  • Tool Tech zip bag, £38.48 -

 

 The Haul kids’ backpack is close to the limit and comes in lots of wacky designs and colours
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The Haul kids’ backpack is close to the limit and comes in lots of wacky designs and coloursCredit: Handout
  • Haul kids' backpack, £15 -
 Try Cabin Max’s Oxford Stowaway, designed for Ryanair’s previous small bag allowance of 35cm x 20cm x 20cm
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Try Cabin Max’s Oxford Stowaway, designed for Ryanair’s previous small bag allowance of 35cm x 20cm x 20cmCredit: Handout
UK Woman claiming to be easyJet employee in foul-mouthed rant on Ryanair flight from Manchester to Tenerife



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