Beat airline baggage fees: how to pack 10 days of stuff in a carry on

lurkylurky

con1888 wrote: »

i go away tomorrow for ten days, hand luggage only
got 10 outfits, still to buy toiletries over there though

Some airports allow you to take an extra carrier bag from one of the airside shops.

I flew from East Midlands last week with Ryanair and took a carrier bag from Boots with a meal deal, small bottle of milk, some toileltries and baby wipes. I saw another passenger who had put their laptop in their carrier bag but the eagle-eyed staff at the departure gate spotted it and made them put it in their hand luggage.

Suntan lotion is currently half price at Boots.

PearlAnn_2

melb wrote: »

I manage 14 - 16 days every summer with Ryanair using just hand-luggage and that includes bits and pieces for self-catering ie cereal for first morning, tea coffee sugar washing powder tablets dishwasher tablets, beach towel etc.

Love the idea, but what about the weight issue please? Ryanair are so hot on it.

penguingirl

lurkylurky wrote: »

Some airports allow you to take an extra carrier bag from one of the airside shops.

I flew from East Midlands last week with Ryanair and took a carrier bag from Boots with a meal deal, small bottle of milk, some toileltries and baby wipes. I saw another passenger who had put their laptop in their carrier bag but the eagle-eyed staff at the departure gate spotted it and made them put it in their hand luggage.

Suntan lotion is currently half price at Boots.

Ryanair say on their boarding passes/website that any shopping should fit in your hand luggage. I have seen a lot of people with bottles of water and sandwiches sticking out their coat pockets though!

lurkylurky

penguingirl wrote: »

Ryanair say on their boarding passes/website that any shopping should fit in your hand luggage. I have seen a lot of people with bottles of water and sandwiches sticking out their coat pockets though!

Some airports have struck a deal with the airlines to allow an extra carrier bag. See here: http://www.eastmidlandsairport.com/emaweb.nsf/Content/Shopping

Edit: I'm not stalking you, Penguingirl, but just noticed you are looking at "best luggage for Ryanair". I brought a Sub Zero cabin bag from Matalan a few week's ago. The dimensions on the Matalan website are slightly bigger than Ryanair's but it does fit comfortably in the Ryanair size checker at the airport. Staff at Murcia were checking baggage size and weight. I was asked to weigh my bag but they didn't check the size, probably because they know it fits.

Katgrit

I've flown a good few times with RyanAir on their cheapy cheapy flights and never paid for hold luggage. I have an expanding case that goes a fair bit bigger than cabin baggage so for the 10 minutes I'm boarding I just wear as much as possible. I then stop the other side of the gate and take off my cardi, 2 hoodies and coat (all with pockets stuffed full of underwear and socks) and repack. I did however make the schoolboy error if buying my case in florescent pink rather than black, which means I stick out like a sore thumb and get stopped every single time when boarding. Never a problem and my case WILL fit in their cage, but I've always noticed people with HUGE black cases wheeling past me smugly while a poor flight attendant is sweating trying to shove my case into the checker cage while saying "I'm sure it'll go in". I've never had hand luggage weighed though - that IS when I'd become a cropper!

So my tips are: take a black case to blend in, wear as much as possible, fill your pockets, and last but not least - if they do stop you and make you use the cage to check the size of your carry on case then put it in UPSIDE DOWN. This tip was given to me by a flight attendant. The bottom of your bag or the wheels is usually widest so upside down will sort of "funnel" it into the cage. Its hard work getting it out again but at least you're in!

totallybored

I've found it impossible to not check in a bag as its the toiletries which are an issue. It's easy to manage with a small amount of clothes if you're going somewhere hot but things like sun cream can be incredibly expensive depending on the destination. There is no point in saving £30 on not checking in a bag to then have to spend €15+ per bottle of sun cream plus mozzie repellant when you get there. You can buy them at Boots at the airport after security but if you have a connecting flight this isn't an option.

CutTheJargon

totallybored wrote: »

I've found it impossible to not check in a bag as its the toiletries which are an issue. It's easy to manage with a small amount of clothes if you're going somewhere hot but things like sun cream can be incredibly expensive depending on the destination. There is no point in saving £30 on not checking in a bag to then have to spend €15+ per bottle of sun cream plus mozzie repellant when you get there. You can buy them at Boots at the airport after security but if you have a connecting flight this isn't an option.

When I travel on business, I try and just use hand luggage as it is also quicker at the other end, but last time I went on holiday for 2 weeks, I just paid for hold luggage so I didn't have to worry too much. I hate lugging cases round the airport and having to miniaturise absolutly everything liquid and fit it in a tiny plastic bag.
Over the years flights have reduced in price considerably so even if you pay for hold luggage it is still often a good deal.

Last time I flew to Malaga, I paid £112 return including hold luggage. That is little more than it costs to go to London for the day on the train! I remember in the early seventies wanting to visit my Norwegian pen friend. The flight then was £152 - an impossibly high amount when I earned less than a pound a week doing a morning paper round

amandaleeds

I have no issue packing lightly for trips, apart from those where I need to take outdoor kit but I have the same issue with the liquids - buying contact lens fluid is expensive and any essential medical creams and liquids can easily fill your small bag. Tolietries in the airport are of limited variety. I've travelled hand luggage only before but am now coming round to the idea that I can save more money taking a big bag with all my toiletries plus a load of food as I am always self-catering!

Augustus_the_Strong

Some useful folding/rolling tips here, but why on earth is she taking so much stuff? There are 15 trousers/shorts/skirts/dresses - she's only going for ten days, for god's sake.

May I suggest 1 x jeans, 1 x light trousers, 2 x shorts, 1 x skirt & 1 x dress, plus about 4 sleeveless/ss tops, 2 x long sleeved tops, a warm jumper and a waterproof jacket. Plus two pairs of shoes (1 smart flat, 1 trainers), 1 sandals or dressy, 1 flipflops.

If you are the sort of person who only wears a pair of trousers once before washing them, don't try to travel with hand luggage.

The best way to save space/weight is to decant your toiletries into tiny bottles (buy some little things from Body Shop and re-use the bottles when empty).

Also, put your clothes into a roll-vacuum bag - no hoover needed, just roll it up. But this is a nuisance if you're changing hotels regularly, and also you'll find you can't compress your bag any more to bring back stuff you've bought on holiday.

SailorSam

Loops23 wrote: »

I bought some being sold off from Tesco - you SIT on the bag to get all the air out, Happy Holidays! :T

And the bigger your bum the quicker it works !!