To have not known this about Ryanair?

[eastandwestand]

So, we’ve not flown for around 5 years.
Instead we’ve done ferries, a couple of cruises and U.K. holidays.
Booked our flights with Ryanair and booked 2 bags which could each contain 20kg.
Weighed them the night before. 1 bag was 20kg and 1 bag was 22kg. So 2kg over.
Spoke to a few people who said the person checking the bags usually turns a blind eye with a couple of kg extra weight. In fact I’ve never been charged for excess luggage, even when my bag was 29kg instead of 25kg EasyJet just stuck a “heavy” label on it.
Anyway, got to the airport and it’s self check in.
You weigh your own baggage and before the machine prints you a luggage label you have to pay on the card machine attached to the scales for any KG you are over.
So you can’t physically board a flight until you have paid £11 per kilo for anything over.
I paid obviously, as my case was over, but I never realised this check in system even existed!
Has it been around for long? Or am just not an airport pro these days?

How are people not aware of the £50 charge if they forget to do online check in?
Does anyone actually read things when buying something?

You pay peanuts for the flights, DD flies to see her friend in Dublin for less then it costs her to get the train to Liverpool - from Leeds,

Expect nothing but a lift in the air and you won’t be disappointed. It’s not Emirates...

Gosh - I didn’t know there was such a thing as weigh your own bags and print your own label!

This system has been around for a long time. I remember years ago at JFK you weighed your bags, stuck on the label then dropped them onto a conveyer belt without even having to speak to a member of staff or go near a checkin desk.

Flybe were extremely strict on the hand luggage front when we flew with them not long ago. Staff going round with a cardboard template box thing and if your hand luggage didn't slide into it easily you got charged 50 quid. A lot of people on our flight were charged. One chap's bag would have fitted if he removed the jacket in the front pocket of his carry on but they wouldn't allow it as he was already wearing a jacket. They weren't exactly nice about it either.

Top tip, nobody turns a blind eye at excess luggage with low cost (the clue is right here) airlines.

My DH flies regularly with FlyBe and has never been charged to check in at the airport. Mind you Flybe are also the most unreliable company going, and their prices for certain routes are definitely not cheap!

Flybe are also the most unreliable company going, and their prices for certain routes are definitely not cheap!

Ain't that the truth! Unfortunately we have very little choice for flying to Heathrow.

I think it's only really Ryanair that charge to check in at the airport.

But the most important thing to remember is that all airlines have different rules and they do change over time, so even if you have travelled with a particular airline recently, it pays to read the T&Cs and be careful exactly what baggage you book, take etc. Although I think that the bigger rule changes, like Ryanair's 'pay extra for any hand luggage at all except a really small bag' or 'pay extra or else we'll give you middle seats all over the place' have had quite a lot of publicity, so you'd have to be living in a cave to miss that sort of stuff.

If a blind eye was taken on every passenger it must play havok with the fuel consumption of the plane. I know there's weight checked before takeoff but what would be the point of a limit if desk clerks were to just ignore them.

They’re not known as FlyMaybe for nothing.

I check in at the airport all the time and have never been charged. That must be limited to Ryanair.

Oh yes. Sorry. I meant how do people not know about £50, actually it's£55 now I think, with Ryanair.
Sorry!

Sometimes they’re fussy about it, sometimes they aren’t.

On one occasion, they asked us if we could please check in some hand luggage bags into the hold, which we were happy to do so we didn’t need to carry the kids bags about. They said it was a full flight so it would free up space. The next time we flew we offered to do this again, but on this occasion they gave us the stink eye and told us we must pay if we needed to put extra bags in the hold, so we declined.

Never been charged extra but have been slightly over and been given a brief lecture about packing more carefully.

We just flew with Ryanair 2 weeks ago - has the family plus ticket so 2 x 20kg cases plus hand luggage. No auto weigh machines at our airport though!
We had one case @ 20.5 and one at 21.5. Apologised politely, explained it was mostly brown sauce and stuff for ex-pat parents. Offered to open and spread onto hand luggage but he said it was fine, but to be careful on the way home.

explained it was mostly brown sauce and stuff for ex-pat parents. Offered to open and spread onto hand luggage

I’d imagine that would be a bit messy.

A good reason (regardless of cost) to check in online is so you aren't bumped from an overbooked flight. DH experienced that a few years ago... He was supposed to be flying into the UK to help me with DDs on a flight when we were intially moving abroad. Luckily there was a no show so he got on as the Standby passenger. (I think that was easyJet). Nearly got bumped from the return journey as well as he was a low priority passenger where as the rest of us were the second highest priority... That was RAF though.

I've been half a kilo over and not been charged. I've seen people made to put their (large) handbags in their hand luggage and charged when they can't fit. I've seen passengers lose the argument when their hand luggage is put in the hold (no cost) because the overhead compartment limit has been reached. easyJet continue to be my preferred airline because their rules are clear, decent value and their hot chocolate on board is tasty and only costs £2 50

Repeat after me-Never fly with Ryanair, never fly with Ryanair, never fly with Ryanair.

@rafals 😂😂

We flew EasyJet today and it was the first time in about 4 years we’d flown with a budget airline. We did the weigh in ourselves for the first time today. It may have been around for a while but it was the first time we had seen it. We were allowed 2 x 23kg cases with the weight to be pooled and we weighed in at 45.9! Whilst it was the first time we have self weighed, those airlines have been charging a lot for having over weight luggage for a lot of years so you have certainly been lucky in the past.

never fly with Ryanair, never fly with Ryanair, never fly with Ryanair

The more people think this, the better, as it leave more cheap seats for people like me who find them absolutely fine, no significant difference than other budget carriers who are usually much more expensive.

Thé self weigh is at least a couple of years for Ryanair
I’ve been allowed 10.8kg before, but it’s really not worth risking it.

Check in on line has been around for years, and you get bombarded with text messages and emails until you do; so it would be difficult to forget.

Why would they let you go over. I've been flying with lots of different airlines for over 40 years and they were always strict about luggage weight.

Oh they're fine alright until you have cause to deal with their customer service department. I went grey dealing with them . Shuddering at the memory. As tempting as their prices seem I have to say that little chant under my breath.

You weighed the night before anyone with common sense would have jigged the bags about 🙄

I flew with Ryanair for first time in Spring. Absolutely clear charging scheme and loads of reminders sent to me.

it's OK, I've been grey for decades, well under the hair dye of course.

I'll keep my £30 return to Lanzarote for some winter sun, thank you very much. I can't even get the bus to the next town for that once taxes have been taken into account and I never pay for any extras that I don't want.

All airlines are very strict now. We had to pay an extra £24 once and many years ago am extra £50. We never go over now.
If there are two of you and one is 18k and the other 22k they let you off.