Ryanair’s Cabin Baggage Fees Boost Revenue by $5 Billion, Outpacing Ticket Sales Growth

Classified as "ancillary," these supplements that do not result from ticket sales constitute a significant source of revenue for these companies. At Ryanair, they reach 4.7 billion euros, or a third of the company’s total revenue estimated at 13.95 billion euros. This year, these ancillary revenues recorded a 10% increase, while revenues from ticket sales only increased by 1%. According to a survey by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, travelers spent more than 10 billion euros in 2024 to keep hand luggage on board the seven main low-cost airlines in Europe: Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Vueling, Eurowings, Transavia, and Volotea.

These airlines set rates that can range from 20 to nearly 80 euros per suitcase on board. Last year, low-cost carriers charged for 390 million cabin bags in Europe, the study reveals, noting that an accepted cabin bag weighs between 8 and 10 kg. This service is not without financial impact for the company. The plane will consume more fuel: from 156 euros of kerosene per flight for 120 cabin bags, a low-cost airline can pocket 3,000 euros by charging 25 euros per bag on board, still making a net profit of nearly 2,850 euros per flight.

According to the study, Ryanair is the low-cost airline with the highest ancillary revenues among the seven companies studied. In 2024, the Irish company transported nearly 156 million suitcases in the cabin on 1.11 million flights for 3.5 billion euros. The more travelers transported, the more revenues increase. Last year, Ryanair transported more than 200 million passengers, a record in Europe according to the study. This is thanks to its Boeing 737 Max aircraft which offer greater capacity than other planes. Thus, while the Boeing 737-800 accepts 118 cabin bags, the Max can take up to 178 suitcases.

In second place is the British company easyJet with 2.2 billion euros in terms of cabin baggage revenues earned in 2024. Wizz Air and Vueling each collected a little over one billion euros for this ancillary service. Eurowings, Transavia, and Volotea respectively collected 650 million euros, over 450 million, and nearly 200 million euros.