How to Hand Luggage
At Berlin Brandenburg Airport most of the carriers are low-cost carriers like easyJet or ultra low cost carriers like ryanair. Of course, they all have different hand luggage sizes.
At time of writing:
- easyet: 45x36x20
- ryanair: 40x30x20 (2024 and earlier 40x25x20)
- eurowings:
With Lufthansa you always get one Luggage and one "Personal Item" which is 20x30x20.
The low cost carriers business model only works if you order additional items. They do not make much money, or even a loss, if you book in advance and only the fare and no extra luggage, seat reservation, no meals... But thats where the great fares come from.
I own 4 Bags: One new Ryanair, one old Ryanair, one easyJet and one standard luggage with wheels for e.g. Lufthansa.
How to Pack
Play Tetris and make sure to comply with all the limits. Do not try to outsmart ground personnel. If legacy carriers like Lufthansa do the check in with their personnel, it is easy. They check if the sizes match roughly, that's it. But if they dont, they may even measure weight. But this, I have only experienced on flights from small airports without business travelers where Lufthansa does not do self ground handling.
If you see Ryanair do the ground handling themselves, you can see it by people wearing Azul or Blue branded outfits, be prepared to have your luggage measured. They get a bounty of 2.5€ if they catch you. For tricks see the how to smuggle section. DO NOT CARRY MORE ITEMS THAN YOU CAN CRAMP IN LEGAL POCKETS OR BAGS.
In Berlin, Swissport does the ground handling for all carriers I can think of. They are easy if your bag look like it is fine, they measure only if is obvious, in my experience.
With standard Lufthansa luggage it should be easy to package for two weeks. One big travel case, one personal item. Lufthansa's personal item has nearly the same size as a new Ryanair bag, so just one of these and do not completely fill it.
Especially Ryanair is hard to pack. easyJet is mostly easy even for a week. But Ryanair is tricky, especially if you have food or drinks.
How to Smuggle
I always carry a cotton sports bag within my luggage. It can be a handy backpack replacement and be used for carrying additional items. For example, if I do not want to squeeze even more, I put food items in this bag. When going through the gate, I hang the bag on my left lower arm and put my jacket over it, so it is not easily visible. In the case my luggage is questioned, I can squeeze it into my backpack or my pockets of my jacket, hoody or trousers. After you got through the gate agent, you can repack everything comfortable.
If you have larger bags than allowed, you place yourself in in the middle or back of the queue. If you are in front, the staff is looking at the queue like a vulture and pulling people out of the queue while waiting. If you are on the end, it is less likely to be pulled because they want the plane to leave on time. If people are constanly moving, it is less likely to be pulled because they loose time on check in. The staff is then busy processing fines. But if the preboarding area is full, it might happen that the queue stops moving and they got time again. Make sure to not be suspicious when idling staff is around. Be not the first person in the queue.
On a recent Ryanair flight they pulled multiple people because we were waiting for the plane. One guy had two bags to big - he got fined twice.
What to Pack
When buying a luggage suitcase, pay attention, it is light and has at least 40 liters. Correct sized easyJet or Ryanair backpacks can be ordered on AliExpress for <20€. When looking for inflatable neck pillows, very small blankets or foldable backpacks, Decathlon is your fried. They often have a Value Item priced at a few bucks, which is also the smallest in its class. They also sell a small sleeping bag (Hüttenschlafsack) which visiting friends and sleeping on their sofa if they cannot provide a blanket. I have a collection of a few travel items which I need often when traveling with luggage only.