Volotea Hand Luggage & Norwegian Baggage: The Honest Budget Airline Comparison 2026

Quick heads-up before we start, because it matters: one of the three airlines in that title doesn't fly anymore. Play Airlines shut down at the end of September 2025. More on that below, but I'd rather tell you now than send you through 2000 words first.

So we're down to two real options. And the Volotea hand luggage rules are where it gets interesting, because barely anyone actually knows how they work. Volotea and Norwegian are two of those underrated budget airlines flying out of Germany: cheap, growing, and packing baggage rules that can hit your wallet at the gate if you don't check them first.

This isn't a small thing. A survey by AirHelp of 1,000 German travelers found that 83% find baggage issues at least a bit stressful, and 42% have already paid an unexpected airport fee because they misread a rule. 62% said the policies were just plain confusing. That's exactly what we want to help you avoid.

The short answer first

On Volotea's cheapest fare, only a small bag (40 x 30 x 20 cm) is free for hand luggage. A proper cabin trolley costs extra, usually via Priority Boarding, and forgetting it means up to 65 euros at the gate. With Norwegian, everything depends on the fare: LowFare only allows an underseat bag, and you need LowFare+ to get the trolley. The real trap on both is the combined 10 kg weight limit across both bags together. Not per bag.

That's the whistle-stop version. Now the details.

Volotea hand luggage: small, strict, expensive at the gate

Volotea is a Spanish airline flying out of Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart, mostly toward Spain, Italy and Greece. Prices are fine. The baggage rules, less so.

According to Volotea's official baggage rules, the free Volotea hand luggage bag can measure no more than 40 x 30 x 20 cm. That's tiny. For comparison, our guide on the Ryanair bag in the same size class covers a bag allowed at 40 x 20 x 25 cm. Volotea gives you a bit more depth, sure, but it's still an underseat-only bag. Fits a laptop, some odds and ends, and then you're done.

Volotea hand luggage size and weight

Want to bring an actual trolley into the cabin? You'll need Priority Boarding. The trolley can then be 55 x 40 x 25 cm. Sounds normal, but there's a catch on weight.

Both pieces together, the small bag plus the trolley, can't weigh more than 10 kg combined. Not 10 kg each. Combined. Most people miss this the first time they read the Volotea hand luggage size rules.

Here are the dimensions at a glance:

What Volotea hand luggage costs at the gate

Here's the part that stings. Without Priority Boarding, an extra cabin trolley on Volotea costs up to 65 euros per person, per flight. The airline confirms this directly on its baggage page.

65 euros. At the gate. For one leg.

And it gets worse. Ground staff actually measure your bag. Wheels and handle included, and if it doesn't fit, you pay or, worst case, you don't board. Per Volotea's own conditions of carriage, the airline can refuse to carry non-compliant baggage. No compensation.

Honestly? I find that harsh for an airline selling itself as the cheap alternative. But the rule is clear, so use it to your advantage: book Priority Boarding upfront if you need more than a handbag. Online is almost always cheaper than the 65 euros at the airport.

Volotea also has membership tiers, Megavolotea and Megavolotea Plus, which bring discounts and sometimes better baggage terms if you fly a lot. For occasional travelers, probably not worth it. For frequent Volotea flyers, it's worth a look.

Norwegian baggage 2026: it all comes down to the fare

Norwegian is the other contender, and here the problem is different. It's not the bag size that trips you up, it's the fare structure. Norwegian has three fares: LowFare, LowFare+ and Flex. And what you can bring on board changes with each one.

According to Norwegian's official LowFare fare rules, the cheapest fare only includes a small underseat bag for free. A cabin trolley for the overhead bin costs extra. That surprises a lot of people who pick the fare on price alone.

The three Norwegian fares explained

So you're not stuck staring blankly at the booking screen, here's the quick version.

LowFare is the base price, and honestly, the fare where most people get caught out. One underseat bag only, 30 x 20 x 38 cm, max 10 kg, no trolley. If you pick the cheapest option you see and just book it, you usually only notice this at the gate.

With LowFare+, a cabin trolley comes included, 55 x 40 x 23 cm. Sounds like the safe choice. It is, mostly, with one catch: the 10 kg limit now applies to both bags together, not each one separately.

Then there's Flex, the priciest of the three. Combined cabin weight jumps to 15 kg, and two checked bags at 23 kg each are already included. For frequent flyers or families, usually the more relaxed pick, even if it costs more.

Spot the pattern? On Norwegian too, the weight limit is a combined one across both cabin pieces. That's the trap most people fall into.

The combined weight trap

Picture this: you book LowFare+ for a flight to Oslo, you're happy about the trolley, you pack it to nearly 10 kg, and you add a light backpack. It fits, you figure. The backpack counts separately, right?

Nope. As CabinZero shows in its analysis of Norwegian's rules, the 10 kg limit on LowFare and LowFare+ applies to both cabin pieces together. Your full trolley plus that backpack blows past the limit easily, and that's exactly what most people don't see coming. Then you're standing at check-in or the gate, paying up.

How much exactly? That's route-dependent and hard to pin down. Based on reports from baggage comparison sites, the gate fee for oversized or overweight cabin bags sits roughly around 50 US dollars on direct flights and up to about 90 to 100 US dollars on connecting itineraries. The exact current figure is on Norwegian's own charges page, and I'd suggest checking it before you fly, since these things change.

Norwegian checked baggage: prices depend on the route

For checked baggage, I can't give you one fixed number, and anyone who does is guessing. Norwegian tiers the prices by route. Roughly, I'd budget from about 40 euros per bag, per leg, depending on where you're going and when you book. Booking online in advance is always cheaper than at the airport. You'll find the exact figures on the official Norwegian baggage page. That covers Norwegian baggage 2026 in full, now let's put it side by side with Volotea.

Volotea hand luggage vs Norwegian: the budget airline baggage comparison

Enough words. Here's the budget airline baggage comparison as a table, so you can see both side by side:

What jumps out? Both have that combined 10 kg limit that catches you off guard if you're not careful. For comparison, Wizz Air handles baggage in a similarly strict way (Coming Soon), except there the weight limit applies per bag instead of combined. Volotea's gate fee at 65 euros is brutal, but at least it's a fixed, predictable number. Norwegian's system is structured more clearly, but you have to pick the right fare when booking, or you show up with no trolley.

What happened to Play Airlines?

Let's talk about the airline that no longer exists. If you googled "Play Airlines baggage" and landed here, here's the honest answer: there are no current Play Airlines baggage rules, because there are no more flights.

Play Airlines ceased operations back on September 29, 2025, as reported by SimpleFlying and The Points Guy, among others. The Icelandic budget airline previously flew from Berlin, Düsseldorf and Hamburg to Reykjavík. It hasn't operated since, and the website is offline.

Why? Short version: the money ran out. According to Wikipedia, Play posted losses of 35.2 million US dollars in 2023 and 66 million in 2024 before shutting down. Two years running deep in the red, few budget carriers survive that. Around 400 staff lost their jobs, and reports indicate a substantial number of passengers were left stranded with no rebooking.

If you're still holding an old Play ticket or voucher: EU261, the standard passenger-rights compensation, doesn't apply in an insolvency. For a broader look at when you're entitled to compensation for airline problems, our guide on baggage and passenger rights covers the claims process in more depth. Your best route here is a credit card chargeback or a claim through your travel agent. Acting fast pays off.

And if you were actually trying to get to Iceland: other airlines now serve those former Play routes from Germany. Icelandair still flies to Reykjavík, and depending on your departure airport, so do Lufthansa, Eurowings, SAS and Edelweiss. Not quite as cheap as Play, but at least they actually fly.

Why do cabin bags cost money at all? The EU steps in

A quick look at the bigger picture, because it explains why you pay for a second bag in the first place. And because this might be about to change.

The European Parliament voted in January 2026, 632 to 15, in favor of making one personal item and one small piece of hand luggage free on every flight, up to 100 cm combined dimensions and 7 kg. Sounds good for us travelers. For the full background and current status, see our piece on the EU cabin bag reform and what it means for other airlines (Coming Soon).

But, and this matters: it's not law yet. The rule still has to be agreed with the EU Council before it becomes binding. Until then, the airline rules above still apply. So I wouldn't bet on your next Volotea hand luggage allowance already falling under the new rule. Keep it in mind, but don't rely on it.

That the industry plays games here is well documented, by the way. An analysis by Which? found that across more than 500 easyJet flights checked, the advertised lowest cabin-bag price was never actually available. The average paid was around 30 pounds. That's how the game works, and I'd guess Volotea and Norwegian wouldn't come out much better under the same kind of scrutiny.

Which bag fits these airlines?

Because both airlines use that unusually small underseat size, you don't need an expensive special solution, just the right size. For the free Volotea hand luggage allowance, you need something maxing out at 40 x 30 x 20 cm. That's smaller than the usual Ryanair-friendly bags, so don't just grab any "hand luggage" bag and hope. We break down which models actually hold up in our hand luggage suitcase test, including exact weight and size figures for each one.

A compact backpack or an underseat bag in exactly this format is the safest bet if you only want to fly with the free allowance. Want to stay flexible and bring a trolley sometimes? Add a cabin trolley up to 55 x 40 x 25 cm, which then works both on Volotea (with Priority) and on Norwegian from LowFare+. With both, the key thing is weight: the bag has to be light, or its own weight eats into your 10 kg limit.

One thing that's easy to overlook: a kitchen scale at home costs about ten euros and can save you that 65 euro fee. Worth it if you fly Volotea or Norwegian more than once a year.

Who has the fairer baggage rules: Volotea or Norwegian?

If I had to choose which of the two active airlines has the more predictable baggage rules, I'd lean slightly toward Norwegian. Not because it's cheaper, but because the fare system shows you more honestly what you're getting. You pick LowFare+, you know you've got a trolley. With Volotea you have to book Priority Boarding as a separate step, and if you miss it, you're paying 65 euros at the gate.

Volotea is still a solid option, especially on the summer routes to southern Europe. You just have to book with discipline and respect that 10 kg line.

And Play? That one's gone, sadly. If you're looking for the old route to Iceland, check Icelandair or Eurowings.

Whether it's Volotea hand luggage or Norwegian baggage 2026, the rule stays the same: add up the weight, don't split it per bag. Weigh your bags at home. Together. That saves you the drama at the gate. For more Kofferly tips on hand luggage and budget airline rules, check out our other airline guides.