Your choice of suitcase can impact just how well baggage handlers are able to board and unboard it
Isobel Pankhurst Audience Writer
04:07, 18 Apr 2026
A baggage handler has revealed which is the best type of suitcase for flying(Image: Getty Images)
When travelling, you may think picking a suitcase is a pretty simple task, but one baggage handler has suggested that you may want to think again. Taking to Reddit, a baggage handler named Adam answered some questions about the job.
One curious internet user asked: “What’s the best / worst luggage to buy?” To which Adam was quick to reply: “Some of the worst bags to buy are the ones which have no wheels.
“In my airline, none of our holds are bin loaded, so we have to manually stack the bags inside each hold, and they can get fairly long.”
He continued: “If your bag has at least two high quality wheels, then it allows us to roll them down the hold quickly, making it easier for us. Otherwise, we have to throw the bags in order to keep to the scheduled times.
“My absolute least favourite bags are the ones that have four wheels, but one of them is seized up, so we try to roll it down, but it just falls over after moving six inches.”
Following on from this, a former baggage handler replied: “I used to handle bags. The multiple zipper expanding tubes with four tiny wheels on the bottom are garbage.
“Square ones also suck. Both mess up the stack pattern and forced me to adjust. I had always wished on airlines issuing standard bags for use. If all bags were the same, it would be a dream. Don’t get slick hard sided. They slide off or these slide off out of place.”
Similarly, flight attendant Megan Homme, who works for an American airline and shares clips on TikTok under the handle @meganhomme, previously shared some tips for picking out the right suitcase before jetting off.
Megan highlighted that one initial consideration should be your suitcase’s construction material. Whilst soft-shell cases might be simpler to handle, they can create difficulties if another passenger’s luggage spills or splits open in the cargo area.
She also suggested opting for a dark coloured case to reduce the likelihood of visible damage when it reappears from the hold.
“If your bag is going under the plane, it is going to be scuffed up very quickly. I learned that the hard way.”
IN the depths of Ireland is a beautiful village estate with a hotel and restaurant – and very unusual former owner.
Before Michael O’Leary, Ryanair was actually owned by Tony Ryan, who co-founded the airline back in 1984.
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Cliff at Lyons is the hotel on the estate – and it has five self-catered cottagesOutside are landscaped gardens and courtyardsCredit: Matteo Tuniz/MediaPro for Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty
And the ex-boss of the budget airline actually bought the Village at Lyons, tucked away in County Kildare, in the 1990s.
The fully restored heritage village – which he owned until his death in 2007 – is around a 30-minute drive from Dublin and includes 47 bedrooms ranging from cottages to apartments.
The recently restored Cliff at Lyons is the country estate’s five-star hotel which has 32 individual rooms and five self-catering two-bedroom stone cottages.
It has a Victorian-inspired glass orangery, an award-winning spa with Finnish barrel saunas and hot tubs, and a lakeside chapel.
For more on staycations – here are some of our favourite UK hotels…
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Margate House, Kent
This stylish boutique hotel is in a seaside townhouse, a short walk from Margate’s coolest bars and restaurants. Decked out with plush velvet sofas, candles flickering and striking independent art, inside feels like a warm welcome home. Rooms are stunning, especially the ones that give you a glimpse of the sea.
The Alan looks extremely grand, being built into a beautiful Grade II listed building. Spread across six floors, with 137 rooms, each one looks like a fancy design magazine. From the concrete coffee tables to the pink plastered walls, the industrial-inspired designs perfectly replicate the history of the city.
This historic hotel has welcomed the likes of Charles Dickens and Lillie Langtry through its doors. Rooms have richly-patterned carpets with super soft bed linen and premium toiletries in the bathroom. Go for a superior room for extra goodies including bathrobes and snack boxes.
This Cambridge hotel is in the ideal spot, within walking distance to bars, shops and hotspots like the university colleges and Parker’s Piece. The inside couldn’t be prettier, with huge stained glass windows, grand chandeliers, and rooms with enormous clawfoot bath tubs.
Rooms are light and airy with views of the gardensCredit: Cliff At Lyons
Tony Ryan’s family still currently own an estate house in the village, which is not included in the sale.
About the estate, he previously said: “Places like this have roots that run deep, not only into the cultural strata that informed their design and creation over the centuries, but also into the life of the community that continues to enjoy its landscape.”
Airlines are becoming stricter with cabin bag regulations, scrutinising the size and weight of passengers’ luggage. If your baggage exceeds the permitted dimensions or weight, you could be hit with hefty last-minute fees.
For example, easyJet warns: “We check cabin bag sizes before you board. If your cabin bag is bigger than the maximum size allowed or if you bring a large cabin bag to the departure gate without the correct seat selection or without one pre-booked for your flight, it won’t be able to go in the cabin. We’ll have to check it into the aircraft hold and charges will apply.”
Given these stricter check-in rules, it’s crucial to familiarise yourself with your airline’s baggage allowances. Here’s what some of the most popular airlines permit.
Ryanair
If you’re flying with Ryanair, “all fares include one small personal bag (40 x 30 x 20 cm) that must fit under the seat.”
You can add extra options like Priority boarding with a second 10kg cabin bag, checked bags of 10kg, 20kg (up to 3), or 23kg (1 allowed). Infants have no cabin allowance but may bring a 5kg baby bag and two baby equipment items free, it confirms.
Ryanair Cabin Baggage
Priority & 2 Cabin Bags: This allows you to carry a small personal bag (40 x 30 x 20 cm), which must fit under the seat in front of you and a 10kg bag (55x40x20cm) onboard, to be stored in the overhead locker. It also allows you to board the plane first using the Priority Boarding queue at the gate.
Ryanair Checked Baggage
10kg Check-in Bag: If you wish to check in a bag, you can add a 10kg Check-in Bag to your booking. Bags must be dropped at the airport check-in desk before security and will be placed in the aircraft hold.
20kg Check-in Bag: If you require a larger baggage allowance, you can add a 20kg Check-in Bag to your booking. Passengers can purchase up to 3 checked bags of 20kg on their booking.
23kg Check-in Bag: If you require an even larger baggage allowance, you can add a 23kg Check-in Bag to your booking. Passengers can purchase up to 1 checked bags of 23kg on their booking.
Ryanair Infant Baggage
Ryanair allows you to carry 2 items of baby equipment free of charge per child, to make your journey as seamless as possible. There is no cabin bag allowance for an infant (aged 8 days to 23 months inclusive). However, it allows a baby bag up to 5kg (dimensions: 45 x 35 x 20 cm) for babies travelling on an adult’s lap.
Jet2
Passengers flying with Jet2.com can bring a small under-seat bag, like a handbag or laptop bag, up to 40 x 30 x 20 cm, to fit under the seat in front of them.
The airline also confirms: “On all our Jet2.com flights, each passenger has a 10kg hand luggage allowance included as standard (excluding infants). You can also bring one small under-seat bag onboard (such as a handbag or laptop bag) as long as it fits under the seat in front of you.”
Passengers are permitted one free cabin bag, provided it weighs no more than 10kg and measures within 56 x 45 x 25 cm – including wheels and handles. If you are travelling with little ones, “you can bring along a collapsible pushchair, car seat and/or travel cot free of charge.”
British Airways (BA)
Another popular airline, British Airways, confirms that if you have no checked baggage, the following applies.
Handbag
1 handbag
Max dimensions of 40 x 30 x 15cm (16 x 12 x 6in)
Must easily fit under the seat in front of you
May contain essentials like medication, mobile phones, other electronic devices and passports
Guaranteed in the cabin
Cabin bag
1 cabin bag
Max dimensions of 56 x 45 x 25cm (22 x 18 x 10in) – including wheels and handles
You must be able to lift your cabin bag into the overhead compartment unassisted
No valuables, electronics or essential medicines
May need to go in the hold
You can also use the airline’s baggage calculator here. You need to enter your flight details, including your departure and arrival airports, travel class, departure date, and ticket issue date.
It cautions: “The weight of your bag as well as the number of bags you are allowed may be different when travelling on flights operated by our partner airlines, even if you are booked under a BA flight number. These are also called code-share flights, and the operating airline will be named in your itinerary.
“If a journey with connecting flights includes ‘BA’ and other airline codes, such as ‘AA’ or ‘IB’, your baggage allowance is generally determined by the airline that operates the longest flight in your itinerary.”
easyJet
Airline easyJet has confirmed that all passengers “can bring one small under-seat cabin bag per person on board for free.”
It adds: “It can be a maximum size of 45 x 36 x 20 cm (including any handles and wheels) and must be kept under the seat in front of you. Your bag can weigh up to 15kg, but we do ask that you’re able to lift and carry it yourself.”
The airline says passengers can bring a large cabin bag (up to 56 x 45 x 25 cm, including handles and wheels) if they book it for their flight. “Every customer who books a large cabin bag can also enjoy the benefit of Speedy Boarding”, easyJet says.
It continues: “If you’re an easyJet Plus member or customer who has booked an Inclusive Plus fare, you can also bring a large cabin bag on board (in addition to your small cabin bag) as part of your membership or fare benefits.
“Please note that the maximum number of cabin bags available per person is two; one small cabin bag for all customers and one large cabin bag for customers if it’s included with their fare or membership benefits or where they have paid to add one to their booking.”
The large cabin bag must follow these rules:
Maximum size 56 x 45 x 25 cm (including any handles and wheels)
Includes items like a trolley case and larger rucksack, but please check dimensions
Needs to fit in an overhead locker
Maximum weight 15kg. You need to be able to lift and carry the bag yourself
The airline recommends passengers purchase all their bags online, as it’s more economical and helps avoid airport charges.
Millions of pieces of luggage are lost of delayed each year, and you may be wondering where the items that can’t be returned to their owners end up. At one facility, they’ve seen all the weird and wonderful things that get left behind
Sonni Hood and her cousin Adam outside the shop
When you check your bag into the hold, there’s always the risk that you are waving it off for good. Despite technology improving at tracking our luggage, some bags seemingly disappear into the void, never to be seen again.
Lost or unclaimed luggage that can’t be reunited with its owner is sometimes sold to companies that auction it off. And if you lose your luggage in the USA, it may well end up at the Unclaimed Baggage warehouse in Scottsboro, Alabama. This vast facility resembles a huge charity shop, but instead of donations, it sells items that airlines have been unable to return to their owners. It even has agreements with some airlines to buy their unclaimed luggage.
While most unclaimed bags contain little more than dirty laundry, the facility has in the past seen suitcases full of fascinating items, leading it to release an annual Found Report. This shows some of the weird and wonderful items they’ve found in cases, the most valuable, and the most common things people lose.
“We don’t sell anything that has had skin to skin contact,” explained public relations manager Sonni Hood, who works at the shop alongside her cousin Adam. That means sex toys are thrown away, as are diaries, human ashes, used make-up and guns.
“We go through everything to ensure there’s nothing harmful, dangerous or too embarrassing inside,” Sonni continues. “Thrifts stores are full of things people want to throw away, but these are things people liked so much they wanted to take away with them on holiday.”
The weirdest find for 2026? There are some odd ones on the list, from a bionic knee to a didgeridoo, but coming in at number one was a fully assembled robot. It’s not clear what the robot was used for, though the team says it looks advanced enough to be a research project. One suitcase contained a giant stuffed goose, a frog-shaped handbag, and an entire fake skeleton.
Some valuable items have also turned up at the facility. In 2026, the most expensive item was a pair of diamond earrings valued at $43,000 (around £32,000). Rolexes, expensive camera equipment, and designer bags were among the most expensive finds.
The report also gave a breakdown of the most common items found in lost luggage. At the top of the list was men’s t-shirts, and over 200,000 found their way to Unclaimed Baggage in 2026. 128,000 pairs of trousers were found, and over 57,000 pieces of jewellery.
Fashion finds included a stunning beauty pageant outfit from a Miss Dakota competition and a lynx fur coat, while international finds included a Tibetan singing bowl and African masks. Historic items included a 1945 army magazine with a cover story on the occupation of Japan and a nuclear radiation detector.
The report also includes some interesting stories about things they’ve bought and sold, such as the time the team opened a suitcase to find it packed entirely with rat poison. An item covered in bubble wrap in the bargain basement was sold for just $2.99 (about £2.25), only to turn out to be a 1930s art deco statue worth nearly £1,500.
Previous years have also seen some unusual finds, such as a jar of whiskey containing an entire preserved rattlesnake and an old French book with instructions for performing exorcisms.
One extremely heavy bag had the team excited, until they opened it and found it was simply full of rocks. Whether it was a collection for a geologist or simply someone making the most of their baggage weight allowance, we shall never know.
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