With load factors reportedly at 95% at Ryanair something had to give. There is only so much space above the seats to put your cabin bag and if everyone brings one it is impossible to fit them all.
Now you can choose whether you wish to have your cabin bag in the cabin or not. You need to purchase “Priority and 2 Cabin Bags” which replaced the old priority boarding product. What does it mean though?
Cabin Bags Explained
I always purchase priority boarding on Ryanair because I like being on board nice and early. It is less stress for me personally not to have to worry about having no space for my cabin bags.
On a recent Ryanair trip, I was sent an e-mail a few days before my trip outlining the policy. What I love about the image – which is at the top of this post – is that it’s so clear you can’t possibly make a mistake.
Underneath the image is all the text explaining what is going on. It’s a pretty good thing that the airline does not charge to put cabin bags in the hold, though I am sure someone would have tried to make that happen somehow.
Clearly there has been no impact to turnaround times or anything like that due to the extra hold baggage. Plus you still get to bring a small handbag type bag on board that fits under the seat, so your laptop or tablet can come with you regardless of what happens.
Overall Thoughts
Aircraft manufacturers and cabin suppliers may have to come to the party and work out how they can fit more bags inside the aircraft cabin. Design students would be challenged to come up with an appropriate solution here.
As long as people continue to bring everything but the kitchen sink on board, the issue of too many bags will continue. I’m glad to see Ryanair have chosen a way forward. Experiencing it in action was seamless, I noticed no flight delay due to the change which I appreciated.
What do you think about cabin baggage and the amounts people bring on board? Do you have a solution to the problem? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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All images via Ryanair.
I don’t get the fascination over the past 10 or so years with people trying to bring multiple bags into the cabin. In previous times, all bags that weighed more than about 7kg had to be checked prior to the gate, but since online checkin and device based boarding passes, this seems to have morphed into a “bring all you like” smorgasbord of cabin baggage options, and airlines have made it worse by offering free checked baggage if you take it all to the gate. If the gate staff aren’t on top of their game it gets on board, and… Read more »
I completely agree with you. It is so much easier to travel with just a laptop bag over my shoulder than any other kind of wheel aboard bag for the cabin. Like really, how much stuff do you need on a short trip? That being said, I have friends who are going from Europe to the USA for over a week and they plan to just take one cabin bag with them, so I guess it takes all types. I find the more I travel, the less I take with me as I know what I will and won’t need… Read more »