One editor found that she was "forced to cough up" at the check-in desk after finding her cabin case didn't meet strict requirements. Seasoned travellers will be all too aware of the pains that come with making sure your hand luggage meets your airline requirements. Airlines such as Ryanair and easyJet have now warned customers that the straps and wheels are also taken into consideration regarding their size.
It's a lesser known rule that Rachel Pugh of the Manchester Evening News recently learned. The editor thought she had "lucked out" when she managed to bag £50 return flights from Liverpool Airport to Barcelona with a carry on case. Right now her go-to cabin base is Antler's Icon Stripe Cabin in Taupe (£175) .
While Rachel did "look up the dimensions in advance", she hadn't realised that the wheels and the handles of the bag were included. So, despite the bag meeting the strict requirements, she found herself slapped with an extra fee on both flights that "ate into her small holiday budget". Rachel said: "I was upset, but knowing there was nothing I could do about it at the boarding gate, I was forced to cough up.
Since then, I've never made the same mistake, and now I'm overly cautious about the bags I take on board budget airlines." Nevertheless, the reporter did advise that her Antler cabin bag has managed to "save a lot of money on hand luggage fines". She has taken it on a variety of budget flights from TUI, Ryanair and Jet2 and "never had an issue".
She also admit.