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The Ryanair website makes little sense regarding combined dimensions for checked baggage.

For health and safety reasons Ryanair does not accept for carriage any individual item exceeding 32 kilos or with combined dimensions of more than 81cms (height), 119cms (width) and 119cms (depth).

It mentions "combined dimensions".

It also mentions three individual maximum dimensions (81x119x119cm HxWxD).

The maximum dimensions cannot be combined and separated at the same time!

I also do not believe that I could bring such a huge piece of luggage onto the flight (81x119x119cm).

How do combined dimensions work for checked baggage on Ryanair?

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    I guess it means it has two limitations, the total combined (linear) and at the same time each dimension has a limit, so you do not bring a piece of luggage that is 300cm long 1 cm width..
    – Nean Der Thal
    May 7, 2016 at 14:09
  • Yeah but which of these is the linear? Also, these limits are not exceptional, Wizz specifies 1.499 x 1.194 x 1.715 maximum height, width, depth.
    – user4188
    May 7, 2016 at 14:12
  • @chx hence it is a comment....
    – Nean Der Thal
    May 7, 2016 at 14:13
  • @HeidelBerGensis your answer is about the only way it makes any sense. For example, I can bring a 79x1x1cm bag. Or, a 1x117x1 cm bag.
    – dbasch
    May 8, 2016 at 17:03
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    I'm not very good with numbers so after reading all of this I'm still confused ;) 119x119x81 seems huge indeed but if your checked luggage is that size or a little smaller you can actually take it..? It really seems way too big to be realistic...but then I'm not planning to take my kitchen or anything from it ;) I hope someone can explain this to me like I'm a four year old...Thanks!
    – user51818
    Sep 28, 2016 at 14:29

2 Answers 2

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I think the hard limits set by the regulation are the individual dimensions. In other words, according to Ryanair, the largest possible checked luggage is a parallelepiped measuring 81cm (height), 119cm (width) and 119cm (depth):

luggage parallelepiped with sizes

Anything larger than that, on any dimension, will not be carried by Ryanair, regardless of whether or not the other dimensions are smaller. In other words a piece of luggage measuring 80cm (height), 120cm (width) and 119cm (depth) will not be carried.

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  • This seems very plausible. KLM has similar restrictions on their checked luggage and I believe EasyJet has some 'oversized luggage' thing that costs extra. (+1)
    – Belle
    May 12, 2016 at 23:34
  • I do not believe that I could bring such a huge piece of luggage onto the flight (81x119x119cm). It just seems way too huge to be allowed. Also, TIL parallelepiped! Thanks for the answer.
    – dbasch
    May 13, 2016 at 10:34
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    Think of it as a bounding box. The luggage you actually bring mut fit within said box. They're probably not actually worried about you bringing 1m^3 of luggage, as that is almost certainly too heavy for them to actuall accept.
    – CMaster
    May 13, 2016 at 11:45
  • @dbasch it's about the luggage you check in, not carry-on :)
    – Belle
    May 13, 2016 at 11:49
  • @J.Constantine correct. I wrote "The Ryanair website makes little sense regarding combined dimensions for checked baggage."
    – dbasch
    May 16, 2016 at 14:23
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+50

Ryan Air's size limits are based on physical limits of their aircraft. The 737's baggage compartment door is 122 x 89 cm. And the weight is fairly universal limit imposed by most airlines for something to be lifted by a human (anything heavier is supposed to be lifted by machinery).

So their size limits are designed to allow the bag to be easily loaded through the compartment hatch, no matter which side goes first. (Bags coming up a conveyor belt have to fit through without hitting the sides)

Why they write it differently in different sections causing confusion, is something to be asked of the corporate departments in charge. But the basic concept is that, two dimensions need to less than or equal to 119 each to fit through the width of the door and the third dimension less than or equal to 81 to fit through the height (extreme case: all three would need to be 81 or less if it was a cube).

Most airlines list girth requirements for suitcases (L + W + D), because these items never exceed the loading door limits. But once you get into oversized items, the physical sizes of loading doors and containers comes into play.

Ryan Air's posted baggage limits makes one wonder if their customers really do take everything including the kitchen sink on vacation ;-)

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  • Why would all three side "need to be 81 or less if it was a cube"? Would it not be 119x119x81 as you described?
    – dbasch
    May 16, 2016 at 14:26
  • @dbasch - A "cube" by definition is an object with six sides of equal dimensions. The only way this would work in the physical world would be if each side is a square, so 81 x 81 x 81 max.
    – user13044
    May 17, 2016 at 2:46
  • I would not consider a cube shape an extreme example. Using the full allowed dimensions or using all of one dimension and little of the others would be better extreme examples.
    – dbasch
    May 17, 2016 at 9:51
  • The dimensions given by Ryanair are not different in different sections of the carriage terms. The dimensions are only given once as quoted in the question.
    – dbasch
    May 17, 2016 at 9:54
  • @dbasch - I didn't say the dimensions are different, I was referring to your statement that they called both combined dimension and individual maximum dimensions. And my apologies if you don't like my naming of examples.
    – user13044
    May 17, 2016 at 14:30

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