To not know what a 20kg suitcase looks like and think Ryanair will fleece me anyway?!

[Acunningruse]

Due to fly with bastard Ryanair this summer. We haven't flown in forever (years of UK self-catering holidays with small DC then post-poned holidays due to Covid) and therefore don't have any suitable luggage, nor, apparently, the brain power to work out what to buy!

We are getting a family pass thingy with Ryanair which means we get 4 x 10kg bags and 2 x 20kg bags. ALLEGEDLY this can be shared amongst us, ie, could have different weights between us but I'm not sure I trust Ryanair.

I have no idea what a suitcase suitable for holding 20kg looks like! I dont want to buy a huge one then find it's too big and I can't fill it within weight limits, but equally I don't want to get something too small!

If you have flown with Ryanair recently and used a 20kg baggage allowance, please could you send me a link or share a picture as to what suitcase you used?

Many thanks.

Depends what you're going to put in it... litres of sun cream? big heavy shoes? Towels?
Or just lots of summer dresses, nappies etc?

A medium size suitcase is about right.
10kg is the small wheely ones for inside the plane. So something twice that size.

It depends what you put in it, and how good you are at packing. You can get a suitcase scale relatively cheaply on amazon if you really are worried!

Just buy the lightest suitcase you can find. Ryanair usually have baggage max dimensions (that get smaller every year), but maybe they don't have it for checked baggage (I would double check though).

Why are you worried about not fully filling it?

A 20kg suitcase is a size or two up from the one that most airlines allow you to take into the cabin.
buy a luggage scale. Go to Tk Maxx or a luggage store and purchase a medium to large light suitcase. Fill and weigh it.

Gather what you think you'll need in a bed sheet.
Weigh yourself with and without the bundle to work out the weight.
Make a visual assessment of what size case you need based on the pile of stuff in the sheet.

Without wanting to point out the obvious… it’s going to depend on what you are packing! If you are taking lots of toiletries/shoes/towels the weight and volume will increase quickly. If you are mainly summer dresses and bikinis then the case will be lighter and require less space!
I recently did 7 nights with DH and 3 DC. We took one large and two medium cases (next size up from cabin case) The large case weighed 20kg and the medium ones came in around 18kg.

Just invest in a case scale and use whatever you've got bag wise or borrow one. Cases can weigh 5k empty so if you're just putting clothes in the hold any sturdy bag will do.

The size and shape for hold baggage is less important than weight. You can put them on bathroom scales or buy travel scales for a few quid.
I have used various different sized cases/holdalls. 20kg is pretty heavy - I generally don't go over about 15kg but it depends how much you want/need to take of course. Be careful with the hand baggage sizes - details are on Ryanair's website and bags are easily measured.
I have have never had any issues with Ryanair. I even got more than the flight costs refunded once because we had to spend a few hours extra in the sun in France whilst they flew someone out to fit a new alternator to the plane. The pilot came into departures and personally explained what was happening too.

The 20kgs bags we use are a mixture or large wheelie cases and holdalls.

My large case is 23-25kg if I stuff it full. To put it into context, that was clothes for a week for 3 of us. Our other bags had the shoes, outdoor clothing, ski equipment, toiletries, DHs clothes etc.

www.argos.co.uk/product/9340345?clickSR=slp:term:luggage%20scales:4:409:1

Get something like this. Or fishing scales, very similar product and often cheaper. Just look around for them. I have one in every piece of luggage we own, so I can check the weight before we leave and before we come back, in case we've bought too much etc while there.

You're focused on the size of the bag when you need to be worried about the density of your packing, as suggested above. You could have a massive bag if you only fill it with packing peanuts, or a tiny one if you pack it with bricks. A '20 kilo bag' isn't a set size, it's about how heavy you make it in the end.

But as said above, a medium sized piece of luggage is about right. I usually bring one big (for beach toys and other lighter but large items) and a small one for liquids etc.

Thanks! Yes, I guess it does depend on what I'll be packing...normal holiday stuff for 4 people I guess (unhelpful) so a mix of clothes, towels and suncream. Those 4 wheel ones look super fancy and I am imagining myself elegantly gliding through the airport with one (whingy DCs optional extra) but they aren't cheap.

Buy suitcase scales from amazon argos etc

LRMYS Multi-function 22KG Luggage Scale, Portable Fishing Mechanical Scale with 1M Tape Measure for Accurate Weighing Suitcases Bags Handbags Luggages Home Travel, 1 Pack www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09SPVP5WV/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_J10FT7XJ8KNXTY4DT58S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Take any suitcase you have at home and fill as though you packing for holiday clothes towel gor beach toiletries shoes books etc

Weigh suitcase

That will tell you the answer as to whether you need bigger/smaller And what 20 kg looks like feels like

If no suitcase in your possession then use any bag or borrow one for this experiment

I'm no fan of Ryanair but of you read everything on the paperwork you won't get fleeced. They even have measuring frames before you get in the queue so you can check your cabin baggage meets requirements. Medium sized suitcase and a cheap set of luggage scales and you'll be fine.

Thank you @daimbarsatemydogsbone that's really good to know. Some friends of ours have recently done the same trip we are planning to do and Ryanair rearranged their flight 4 times and it ended up being a day earlier so they had to fund an extra night in the hotel. Fingers crossed our first trip abroad in forever goes smoothly.

Ryanair have always (apart from one occasion when desk staff were snotty with me because I'd missed my flight and needed another - I took my custom elsewhere that day) been decent with me. I've travelled very cheaply between the UK and Ireland for years, had only one delayed flight, never been hassled about luggage. I don't think they're out to 'fleece' people.

No you don't see weight, you... weigh it, like on a scale.

4 x 10kg bags and 2 x 20kg should be more than enough to fit all your stuff. Assuming you're a 2.4 kids kinda family and not the Radfords. The case I use when checking in a 20kg bag is basically twice the size of the suitcase you can fit in the overhead locker. Stuffed with loads of clothes I only ever seem to hit the 15kg mark. As long as you're not bringing weighty non-clothing items you'll be fine.

I've flown with Ryanair way more times that I can count and I've never had a bad experience.

Ryanair staff in Dublin re-opened a flight and printed me a boarding pass once despite me being in the wrong. I think it may have helped that the woman before me had spent ages ranting at them for something that really wasn't their fault - so when I asked nicely and said I knew I'd have to pay extra and it was all my own fault they let me off.

Check the permitted dimensions on their website. Not just the weight.

Then buy a suitcase or suitcases that fit within those dimensions.

Pack your stuff and weigh it. If it’s over, you know you need to take some stuff out.

20kg is generous for 2 kids. Although I could take 20kg of stuff on my own.

Thanks all. Good to hear the positive Ryanair stories.

Really good advice about laying it all out on a sheet to weigh and visualise eg. I think the issue is that we haven't done this type of holiday before, we've always gone self-catering and filled the car with everything we could possibly need 'just in case' but thats obviously not possible when flying!

Unless you are going somewhere random remember it's usually easier to buy toiletries and suncream at a local supermarket so you don't have to worry about leaking or weight.

I can't find the exact model of the suitcase I've used on Ryanair, but it was the same cheap brand and exact dimensions of this : www.bmstores.co.uk/products/croc-embossed-suitcase-81cm-354415

No one measured it at the airport (it is exactly at the Ryanair dimension limit).
And just to echo others, 20kg is loads. My suitcase for 3 people for 1 week normally weighs 12-15kg.

We flew recently and had

• one big case at 22kg (all the clothes for kids and DH plus some shoes, books, extras),
• a medium case (largest carry one size which was my clothes and other bits) which was full at about 13kg
• a over the shoulder weekend bag with books and toiletries at 9kg.

20kg is a medium suitcase, the size up from the cabin size

20kg is 44 pounds, that’s a normal luggage allowance, one soft large suitcase