Monarch Hand Luggage Restrictions

b1505

I know this might sound like a stupid question but I'm flying with Monarch next week to Bodrum from Manchester and I've seen that the hand luggage restrictions are 56x45x25 however the piece of hand luggage I'm wanting to take is 54x37x27. It's well under on two of the measurements but obviously it's a bit deeper than they allow, will they check this at the airport or would I be able to get away with it? I flew with them last year but I only had a small bag for hand luggage so I didn't have this problem.

alanrowell

Does it matter what has happened to others - the bag is over the limits so if they do check you are done for. How much is the charge for checking an extra bag?

apt

They are less likely to check than money-grabbing Ryanair, but a case with 27 inch depth may well not go into the overhead locker.

Westin

It's of course a gamble and will often come down to how officious the check-in and gate staff are on the day.

My feeling is that it will be OK and I'd run with that. Flying from Gatwick I have only ever found Monarch check the weight of the hand baggage rather than the size providing it is not obviously over the size limits (which I'd say yours isn't).

Last used Monarch in June to fly to Sharm. Hand baggage weighed at checkin but not asked to place in gage. No further check at the gate. On the return the checkin agents at SSH didn't bother even looking at hand baggage.

Westin

Apt - I think those sizes are actually cm.

Obviously_the_best

If it isn't within the limits don't fly with it, it's something like £18 to check it in, so not bad compared to some.

b1505

apt wrote: »

They are less likely to check than money-grabbing Ryanair, but a case with 27 inch depth may well not go into the overhead locker.

I think the measurements are cm, if not then I'm well within the limits as mine is measured in cm.

alanrowell wrote: »

Does it matter what has happened to others - the bag is over the limits so if they do check you are done for. How much is the charge for checking an extra bag?

Not sure if I can add it on before as I booked through lowcostholidays but at the airport they'll charge £50 according to the monarch website. I'm not needing an extra bag as this one will only a few pairs of shoes in just so my hold luggage isn't overweight and whatever I need on the plane it's just that I don't have any other bag for hand luggage and was trying to avoid buying another!

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

If it isn't within the limits don't fly with it, it's something like £18 to check it in, so not bad compared to some.

Is that if you book it before? On the website it said you get charged £50 to check it in but I booked through lowcostholidays so not really sure about these costs. Read that even if you check two bags in they both have to be within the 20kg limit combined so this wouldn't solve my problem. Just wanted to see if they were a bit lenient as it's not an overly large bag.

Westin wrote: »

It's of course a gamble and will often come down to how officious the check-in and gate staff are on the day.

My feeling is that it will be OK and I'd run with that. Flying from Gatwick I have only ever found Monarch check the weight of the hand baggage rather than the size providing it is not obviously over the size limits (which I'd say yours isn't).

Last used Monarch in June to fly to Sharm. Hand baggage weighed at checkin but not asked to place in gage. No further check at the gate. On the return the checkin agents at SSH didn't bother even looking at hand baggage.

Thanks for that, when I flew last year they weighed it but as it was a small bag I didn't know if they checked the sizes of others that were larger. I remember seeing some people with small suitcases which were probably a bit larger than my bag at the departure gate but never saw if they got checked or not.

Thanks for all the replies.

Bob_the_Saver

Too big is too big.
Too heavy is too heavy.
1mm too big is too big.
1 gramme over is too heavy.
You might get away with it, you might not.
You might get away with it outbound and (quite rightly) get clobbered on the return.
You take the chance, you pay if it doesn't work,
Just don't moan about it.

apt

Sorry, I meant cm not inches in my earlier post.

richardw

They do check the size at Gatwick, I've seen them do it. 27cm is just too thick.

bagand96

Last time I flew Monarch they weighed everyone's hand baggage at check in to ensure it was below 10kg. They even attached labels that said "fit to fly" once they had checked them.

They did not make us put the bags in the cage either at check in or the gate. In fact I've never seen Monarch checking at the gate like Ryanair do.

That said, my experience is irrelevant as it depends what happens to you on the day. Is your bag rigid? Or flexible (i.e. could it be "encouraged" to fit into the cage if required?).

Its a calculated risk you take. You know its slightly too big on one dimension. You may get asked to put it in the cage, you may not. it may squeeze in, it may not. If you get caught, its going to cost you.

I've travelled many times on Ryanair with a bag that was about 1cm too big for their cage. However I always managed to force it in and got away with it.