How tough are they with carry-ons for intra European flights?
 

I was looking at some intra European flights with Flybe. They say you get one carry-on for free and pay for each checked luggage. I usually travel with a roll about and a big backpack for carry-on and a big checked duffel bag. My experience is that some airlines gate check the backpack as it is kinda big. (It is about as big as a carry on roll about.)

http://imagecdn-1.findnsave.com/320/3962517-420

But the airlines never charge extra for gate checking. How does it work for intra European flights? How tough are they with the luggage policy?

Thanks

IME, they are much more restrictive than US carriers. Would not expect to be permitted to haul aboard that huge backpack as a carry on, and would not count on gate checking it for free. You may well be required to pay a checked bag fee.

From their website-

Cabin bag for Just Fly customers
Just Fly passengers are entitled to carry one item of cabin bag on board Flybe’s aircrafts. The maximum permitted dimensions, including the bag's handles and wheels for your cabin bag item are 55 x 40 x 23cm and it should not exceed 10kg in weight.
<b>Baggage sizers are provided at the check-in to ensure that your cabin bag is within your permitted allowance. Should your cabin bag exceed these dimensions, it will be required to be placed in the hold and standard airport hold baggage charges will apply. A £50 charge will be levied for any oversized bag checked in at the departure gate. Should your cabin bag exceed the permitted weight allowance of 10kg, it will be placed in the hold and standard airport hold luggage charges will apply.</b>Where allowances are exceeded, excess baggage charges may apply, full details of which can be found here. Any cabin bag items containing sharp items must be checked into the aircraft hold. Please ensure to check your cabin bag prior to travel to ensure no charge is levied.

>>How does it work for intra European flights? How tough are they with the luggage policy?<<

Most are VERY tough and don't allow <i>any</i> fudge factor. And AFAIK a FlyBe gate checked bag will cost a lot- like £50 if it is gate checked because of size or weight.

was posting the same time as DebitNM.

You'll be lucky if any ONE of those 3 bags will fit in the sizer and be allowed as carry on.

They are strict. Pay upfront ( online ) because usually paying later at airport or at gate will cost more then you would want to pay.

Yes. Most are tough and it's better to plan to be within their specifications than try to eek by with some extra and get nailed for it.

"But the airlines never charge extra for gate checking."

The airline in this context is a full service carrier. You are flying a low-cost carrier. The business model of low-cost carriers is to price the basic fare stunning low, but reap much of the revenue from those who cannot comply with many of their restrictions. They give you nothing free.

I've never had any problem on KLM, Air France, Croatia Airlines, or Eurolot with my larger roller bag (fits vertically in most 737 overhead bins) that I carry on along with a "personal item," a camera bag that will barely fit under a seat in front of me. Only once was I asked to check this bag, on a KLM flight from Milan to Amsterdam, when we had a sports team on our full flight and they all had big carry-ons. I've never been asked to try to fit my bag into any of the "must fit in here" boxes most of the airlines have at their gates.

I'd guess the "budget" airlines are much more strict.

Flybe , might gate check your back pack but you will be charged for it and big bucks.Most Low cost carriers in Europe are very strict on carry on bags and they must fir the size and weight dimensions on their terms and conditions.They will check. Pre pay any hold luggage as that is the cheapest way to do it.
1 bag means I bag, not 1 bag plus personal item.

Andrew, KLM are getting a lot stricter on carry-on allowances in Europe, especially with the charge for checked bags.

Before making any decision about a carry on, it might be useful to check the aircraft on which you will be flying.

Many Flybe flights are on ATT-72 aircraft, and they have much less carry on space than the 737 that Flybe also uses as a principal aircraft. For that matter,at the seats below the wings on the ATRs, the overhead space is even more limited than in the other seats.

You really have three large bags. You would probably have to check at least two of them, and maybe even the rollabout, whose size you haven't mentioned. Two items of hold luggage would cost you £42.

http://www.flybe.com/terms/tariff.htm

Two items of hold luggage seems to be the maximum, so you should make sure that at least one of your bags will meet the cabin luggage standards.

I must add that the amount of luggage you're carrying is almost as much as my daughter carried to Ghana for a year of demographic research, a trip that included water purification gear, a small solar panel, a computer, clothing for both tropical and European climates, and quite a lot of printed documents.

I've flown Flybe, Easyjet, Ryanair etc. many times. With some exceptions, they get you from A to B at much lower cost than "full service" airlines.

For a no unpleasant surprises flight, just read and follow all the regulations. As Jeff said, Flybe's overhead compartments on some routes are very, very small. They could not hold a conventional carryon.

We flew with a friend a few years ago from East Midlands airport to Limoges. Despite warning her several times about going over the weight limit on checked luggage, she was over by about 10 lbs. £60 later... (Ryanair)

I seem to recall that Flybe allows 2 items of checked luggage for free, with a combined weight of 40kg. If I have that right, and since you are already checking a duffle, why not check the backpack?

Sorry -- I may be mistaken about Flybe's policy. Thought it was, but looking it up online, it looks more complicated.

Wow, the flights are cheap but the luggage fees make up for it. Thanks for the help!

I don't have the dimensions of the rollabout, but it is like this.

http://cdn1.ebags.com/is/image/im8/1...=280&align=0,1

It is the biggest allowed on full service airlines. Would it fit on intra European flights as a carryon?

No one can answer that for certain without knowing the exact measurements, but it is unlikely, given that many budget airlines allow smaller dimensions (not just lower weight) than full service airlines.

I would also point out that I don't even think that something that met US budget airline standards would automatically fly (pardon the pun) with an EU budget carrier. The reason I say this is because I have seen recommendations in Fodors own articles for carry-on luggage that I know to be in excess of the sizes permitted by European carriers.