Ryanair, the biggest European discount airline, will allow only passengers who have paid a €5 'priority boarding fee' to carry on more than a handbag or laptop, starting Nov. 1. It claims the measure is intended to speed up boarding.
Ryanair has previously required that passengers with regular size carryons surrender them at the gate for free checking once the plane's overheads start to fill up. That's led many travelers who don't want to wait at a carousel to switch to smaller duffels or suitcases. The new rule is aimed at those bags.
In essence, Ryanair is lining up with Easyjet's 'Hands Free' plan, described yesterday in TravelGumbo news, except that Ryanair is charging for taking bags on, while Easyjet is charging for relieving passengers of bags.
Ryanair has long complained that passengers bring too much luggage and take too long getting it stowed. It has also long made significant income by charging for luggage in various forms.
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