Hand luggage is something that many of us turn to for sheer comfort on short trips. It has its advantages and also allows us to avoid additional costs on flights. With the arrival of the low cost flights It became a habit to use hand luggage, although everyone knows that it has its restrictions and peculiarities.
Each company establishes certain rules regarding the hand luggage What we must know before getting on the plane to avoid unwanted surprises. On low-cost flights almost everyone wants to carry hand luggage but it is not always possible.
Why carry only carry-on luggage
If the trip we are going to do is long, surely the hand luggage will not reach us with its reduced measurements, so we will have to settle for check in, queue and wait to see our suitcase on the treadmill when we get off the plane. However, if the trip is short, we can carry our things in hand luggage without problems. In this case we will have the advantage that the suitcase will go with us and will never be lost, which does happen frequently when checking in. In many flights, checking in has an additional cost, especially if we talk about low-cost ones, so it is also a saving to carry hand luggage in these cases. Another thing that we are going to save is time, since we will not have to queue to check in and to wait for our suitcase to arrive on the belt.
Hand luggage measures
In general, all companies have similar measures when allowing us to carry hand luggage so that we do not go crazy buying suitcases for every occasion. They can vary by a few centimeters and in weight, but in general they are quite similar. Almost all companies allow to carry the suitcase and another package that also has specific measures so that people do not overdo it with this second luggage. These measures may change, so it is better to make sure in advance by entering the website of the company with which we are going to travel to make sure that the measures are still in force. If we have several flights with different companies, we must also check each of them, as their demands may be different. In general, these are the measurements of the hand luggage of some of the best-known companies that operate in our country.
- Air Europa: 1 bag of 55 x 35 x 25 cm (10 kg) + 1 bag of 35 + 20 + 30 cm.
- Air France: 1 package of 55 x 35 x 25 cm + 1 package of 40 x 30 x 15 cm (maximum total 12 kg)
- Alitalia: 1 package of 55 x 35 x 25 cm (8 kg) + 1 small package (unspecified).
- American Airlines: 1 package of 56 x 36 x 23 + 1 package of 45 x 35 x 20 cm.
- British Airways: 1 package of 56 x 45 x 25 cm + 1 package of 40 x 30 x 15 cm.
- EasyJet: 1 bag of 56 x 45 x 25 + 1 bag of 45 x 36 x 20 cm.
- Iberia: 1 package of 56 x 45 x 25 cm + 1 small package (unspecified).
- Lufthansa: 1 package of 55 x 40 x 23 cm (8 kg) + 1 package of 30 x 40 x 10 cm.
- Qatar Airways: 1 package of 50 x 37 x 25 cm (7 kg) + 1 small package (unspecified).
- Turkish Airlines: 1 package of 55 x 40 x 23 cm (8 kg) + 1 small package (unspecified).
Changes to Ryanair
Ryanair has been one of the companies that has most innovated in the matter of hand luggage. We all started doing this practice with them but things have changed recently, so for those who have gotten lost it is important to keep in mind that they no longer have the same rules as before. At first you could only carry the suitcase with the required measures. Later they allowed to incorporate a small package along with the suitcase. But as of January 2018 the rules changed. Now you can take a small package with us, specifically 35 x 20 x 20 cm. The suitcase that was previously with us is lowered to the cellar at no additional cost. This means that you do not have to check in, but you do have to wait for it to pass through the belt when it reaches its destination. It has its disadvantages and advantages. On the one hand we will not have to carry the suitcase and upload it to the top. But on the other hand we will not be able to put very fragile things in it because we already know that the treatment that is dispensed to them is not delicate. The speed with which you get off the plane is compensated by the delay in picking up the suitcases on the belt.
Items that cannot be carried
In addition to the measurements, we must take into account the long list of objects that can never be carried in hand luggage. From knives, even if they are a souvenir, to liquids in large bottles, tools, or chemicals. We will see that depending on the airport and the moment the controls will be greater or lesser, but to heal ourselves in health it is better to review everything that we cannot carry and comply with the rules.