You are allowed to take a small bag for free on every Ryanair flight but thanks to some confusing wording in their baggage policy, there’s confusion about whether this includes a suitcase or not.
Here’s what we’ve found out.
What is Ryanair’s Small Bag Policy?
Ryanair’s small bag policy is listed clearly on their website. It says:
- All our fares include one small personal bag which can be brought on board, such as a handbag or laptop bag (40 x 30 x 20 cm), which must fit under the seat in front of you.
Does this mean you can’t take a suitcase as a small bag on a Ryanair flight?
Whilst most suitcases are bigger than the small bag allowance, there are many on the market that do fit.
However there’s still apprehension around taking a suitcase as a small bag on a Ryanair flight, due to words like ‘such as‘ and ‘can‘ in their bag policy. These indicate a suggestion, rather than a rule.
And when we look at their general terms and conditions, there’s even less detail – with no suggestion of any type of bag you could use.
- 8.3.1 - You may carry on board one small cabin bag of up to 40x30x20cm (no allowance for infants travelling on their parent’s lap)
This lack of clarity does confuse passengers over what’s allowed. And I’ve heard of Ryanair staff using the bag policy’s mention of handbag, laptop bag or backpack as a reason to charge individuals with a suitcase – even when they fit.
If this scenario happens to you, I would show them the bag policy and the general terms – and point out how they do not exclude suitcases. The only rule is that they must fit the dimensions.
However, please do this calmly and politely as ultimately, it is down to that individual whether you get fined, and even if you get let on the flight.
If the staff member will not back down, make sure you get plenty of evidence – photos and videos that show your suitcase fits in the baggage sizer – as well as their name so that you can raise it as a claim when you land.
What does Ryanair say about this?
Ryanair has a video explaining their allowed baggage allowances and sizes on their YouTube channel, and it doesn’t specify a certain type of bag either.
We also spoke to Ryanair’s Customer Service to ask if we could bring a suitcase as an underseat bag. After a bit of probing, they said:
So there you go – Ryanair Customer Service say that a suitcase that fits the dimensions for a small bag is allowed.
Why do we think Ryanair are being unclear about this?
As someone who loves clear and simple messaging, it always frustrates me when guidance doesn’t have clarity! It’s one of the reasons why we write up articles like this to help people out.
However, over the years I have learnt to understand that leaving this ‘grey area’ is very common communications practice, particularly in the travel industry. It tends to happen when companies want to guide their customers to do something rather than force them.
So, in the instance of Ryanair here, it makes their life much easier if everyone brings a smaller bag that will easily slot underneath the seat in front of them. If everyone brought a small suitcase – even one that correctly fits the dimensions – you may find that overhead bins fill up quicker. This ultimately impacts the time it takes to board passengers, and also adds to frustrations from those who cannot find space for their large cabin bags that they’ve paid to store up top.
Whilst it can sound like Ryanair are being sneaky here, it is also worth knowing that fast turnarounds at the gate are one of the reasons why Ryanair have been able to charge less for flights over the years – and so an efficiently run airline can also benefit the customer.
However, this doesn’t change the fact that in the general terms and conditions, it does not explicitly say you cannot take a suitcase as a small bag (which was backed up by the customer service agent we spoke to).
Therefore, I definitely encourage you to always check the official policy wording and be wary of any words like ‘can’ and ‘may’ which may be encouraging you to stick to a rule that doesn’t actually exist!
