Last month I watched a woman at the Ryanair gate in Dublin argue with ground staff for six minutes. Her weekender bag was gorgeous. Cream leather, brass hardware, packed perfectly. It was also 55x40x20 cm. Without Priority boarding, Ryanair only allows 40x30x20 cm. She paid EUR 50 at the gate to...
In summer 2025, according to Germany's Federal Statistical Office, 68.5 million passengers departed German airports. I'd bet a good portion of them ran into trouble at the gate.
I watched a woman at Cologne airport hand over 60 euros because her trolley was 3 centimeters too wide for Ryanair's free allowance. Sixty euros. For a weekend trip to Barcelona. That's more than her flight cost.
Monday morning, 6:14 AM, Dusseldorf Airport. There are 38 people ahead of you at security. You need to pull out your laptop, but it's buried somewhere between your dress shirts and toiletry bag. You're fumbling through your suitcase, holding up the line, and the guy behind you is already sighing.
My friend Stefan paid €69.99 at the Ryanair gate in Dusseldorf last October. His suitcase was "55 cm" according to the manufacturer. With wheels? 58 cm. That was an expensive lesson.
199.5 million passengers passed through German airports in 2024. That's 7.7 percent more than the year before. And I'd bet a solid chunk of them had that moment at security where they're frantically digging through their backpack because something didn't meet the rules.
A €75 fine at the gate because your suitcase is three centimeters too deep. Sounds absurd? It happens constantly at Ryanair. And since ground staff now earns a €1.50 bonus for every oversized bag they catch, they're paying very close attention at the sizer. Think about it: 180 passengers, €1.50...
860 euros for a carry-on. That's what Rimowa charges for the Original Cabin right now. Before LVMH bought the company? 689 euros. And the Topas model? Jumped from 789 to 1,300 euros. A 65% price hike.
No, Travelite is not owned by Samsonite. I've seen this question so often I'm putting the answer right here, first sentence. The two companies have zero connection. Travelite is a family-owned business from Hamburg, Germany, founded in 1949. Samsonite is a publicly traded corporation...
No. Hauptstadtkoffer is not made in Germany. And yes, that surprises a lot of people. A Berlin brand, named after Germany's capital, colorful hardshell suitcases with TSA locks and a distinctly German vibe. Sounds like German engineering. It isn't.
A friend of mine, Stefanie, bought an American Tourister Soundbox for about 85 euros. Three trips later, one wheel had snapped off, the handle wobbled, and the zipper got stuck mid-zip at the airport carousel. She texted me a photo of the damage with a string of words I probably shouldn't repeat...
4.7 stars, over 3,000 reviews, starting at 60 euros. The COOLIFE suitcase shows up in pretty much every Amazon.de search for "budget hardshell luggage." I kept wondering though: Does it actually fit Ryanair's rules? How much can you really pack when the suitcase itself weighs nearly 3 kg? And...