Exclusive investigation: how Ryanair makes millions at the expense of the French (and the solution that over 3,000 travelers have found)
Elsa Cuisinier
Hidden fees, rigged sizers, commissioned agents… We’ve pulled back the curtain on the mechanics of Europe's most profitable luggage tax. And discovered why a handful of travelers never pay it again.
But before we dive into the investigation, for the curious ones, here is the loophole found by over 3,000 travelers: a compression technology bag
You may never have realized it. But if you’ve taken a Ryanair flight (or even EasyJet, Transavia, or WizzAir) in the last 6 years, there’s a good chance you’ve unknowingly financed one of the most discreet and profitable revenue streams in European aviation.
Not the ticket. Not the paid seat. Not the €7 sandwich.
The sizer.
That blue metal frame placed just before the boarding gate. The one you walk past while quickening your pace, hoping no one stops you.
We investigated. Here is what we found.
The cash machine no one sees
Ryanair’s business model is an open secret in the industry: the ticket barely makes any money. What makes the money is everything else. And when it comes to "everything else," luggage is king.
Here is how it works, in practice.
You book a flight for €29. You’re happy. You pack your bag, the one you’ve been using for three years, bought for about twenty euros at a supermarket. It fits "mostly" within the announced dimensions. You tell yourself it will pass.
And then, at the boarding gate, an agent asks you to slide your bag into the sizer. A wheel sticks out. Just one. "It doesn’t fit completely, sir. €70. By card 🙂"
No negotiation. No second chance. In front of 30 people looking at their shoes, praying not to be next.
Your €29 ticket just cost you €99. And you’re not an isolated case. You’re the norm.
Agents paid to catch you
What our investigation brought to light is the incentive mechanism behind these checks.
Ryanair has removed the monthly bonus cap for agents who identify luggage that doesn't comply with the sizer. In other words: the more non-compliant bags an agent spots, the more money they make.
You aren’t a traveler. You are a walking commission.
And Ryanair isn't alone. The system has become a standard in the low-cost industry:
Ryanair: a bag refused at the boarding gate means fees of €45 to €70, payable by card only. On some routes, the risk of paying up to €75 is real if the luggage exceeds the sizer.
EasyJet: you book your luggage online for €35, but at the boarding gate, the classic scenario is between €48 and €63 in fees, with the bag placed in the hold without any other option.
Wizz Air: its teams literally scan the lines looking for suitcases without a "Priority" tag. If they catch you, it’s often a €60 last-minute fee, by bank card only.
Three airlines. The same scheme. The same mechanics: make the ticket attractive, and recover the margin on luggage "incidents" that are anything but accidental.
The calculation the airlines don't want you to make
Here is the exercise no low-cost airline will invite you to do. We’re doing it for you.
Take the average traveler: two low-cost round trips per year. Four flights.
If you get caught just once per trip — which is wildly optimistic given the numbers above — it looks like this:
4 flights × €60 in fees = €240 per year. For nothing.
For a metal frame and a wheel that sticks out.
Over three years, that’s €720. Over five years, €1,200. Sums evaporated into a system designed to make you pay without realizing it, flight after flight.
And the most perverse part: physical checks at the sizer are standard before boarding the plane. If your bag doesn’t fit entirely, it’s refused. Wheels that stick out are systematically penalized.
It’s not bad luck. It’s a business model.
But does that mean there’s no escape?
The loophole that over 3,000 travelers are now using
By following the thread, we discovered something interesting.
There is a category of travelers who never pay at the sizer. Not because they cheat. Not because they are lucky. Because they made a simple calculation, and they solved it once and for all.
The calculation is this: the recurring expense (luggage fees) is infinite. It comes back with every flight, for life. The one-time expense (a bag made specifically to pass) happens only once.
That is the whole logic of a carry-on bag.
A bag with dimensions calibrated to the millimeter for the sizer—not "mostly," exactly. Wheels included (since there aren't any), handles included. You put the bag in the tray, it slides in, the agent waves you through. Every single flight.
It’s not about luck. It’s about centimeters.
Over 3,000 travelers have understood this. And they aren't going back.
The ROI of a Carry-On Bag (yes, we did the math)
The bag is €149.90, sometimes on sale for €129.90.
Let’s look at that against the numbers.
One single refusal: €70. Two refusals in the year: €140.
The bag is paid for. In full. In two trips.
From the third flight where you pass through without paying, the bag costs you nothing. It makes you money. Each additional flight is €60 to €70 that you keep in your pocket instead of giving it to the metal frame.
BUT ABOVE ALL, PEACE OF MIND.
Where fees are a permanent leak, the bag is an investment that pays for itself in two trips and protects you for years:
- Dimensions calibrated to pass the sizer without debate.
- Designed to last dozens of flights, not to tear on the third one and put you back at square one.
- Designed to swallow a week's worth of items without bulging at the moment of inspection.
Here is what those who use it say:
See more reviews
Verdict of the investigation
The system is simple, and it is formidable: low-cost airlines earn a massive share of their revenue from "ancillary fees." Luggage is the number one lever. Sizer checks are designed to catch as many passengers as possible. Agents are financially incentivized to spot non-compliant bags.
This won’t change. Luggage rates are increasing regularly, not the other way around.
What can change is your response.
Option 1 — You continue as before. You book the cheapest ticket, you cross your fingers at the gate, and statistically, sooner or later, you pay another €60 or €70. Again. And again.
Option 2 — You invest once in a bag made to pass, and you close the tap for good. The next agent at the sizer waves you through, and you think back to all the times you took your card out for nothing.
COMMENTAIRES