EU baggage allowance

[telstarbox]

The EU has suggested a minimum free hand baggage allowance and easyJet has said this would lead to more baggage being offloaded to the hold.

EU proposals for free extra cabin bags on planes ‘lunatic idea’, says easyJet

Giving passengers right to additional carry-on baggage would be ‘terrible for the consumer’, warns airline’s CEO

www.theguardian.com

 

[signed]

On the surface, I fully agree with EasyJet on this one.

But deeper, how are legacy carriers, who I would assume have a large majority of their travellers still afforded free cabin bags, not having problems with gate checks, at least publically?

I can see a problem arising on 737 airlines with quite smaller bins than A320 family aircraft.

Though, that that will slow down (de)boarding to a crawl, that's a given.

I actually love the idea that you can get cabin+priority for £5.99. I have never seen the cost under £30/leg even for very empty flights.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It wasn't a problem when one checked bag was also included too. The loss of that (so low headline prices could be advertised) was when the rot started.

One could almost argue for carry on to be chargeable (bar a small personal item) and checked to be free. The plane has lots of space underneath which was designed for luggage.

 

[gabrielhj07]

The loss of that (so low headline prices could be advertised) was when the rot started.

Otherwise known as offering passengers the choice to not pay for something they're not using.

 

[Cloud Strife]

The plane has lots of space underneath which was designed for luggage.

The problem for the airlines isn't the baggage space, but the sheer cost of getting it from the check in desk to the plane. Airports have hugely complicated systems, and with very tight turnarounds, it's quite expensive for airlines to handle checked baggage.

IMO, probably the best option would be for airports to operate baggage handling by themselves and for the fees to be public. The airlines would then have to deal with pricing accordingly, so some of them might charge cost price, others might impose their own fees to reflect luggage as a profit centre.

I think what's really needed is for a standardised underseat baggage size which reflects reality. It should be possible to take cabin baggage in different dimensions, so for instance, a laptop bag for a 15.6" laptop would be fine, as would a small wheeled suitcase. The airlines would then be obliged to provide the space under the seats for it, and as long as the baggage fits within those measurements, it would be fine.

Ryanair has really become great since they started enforcing the rules strictly, as there's never any problems with the overhead bins and the boarding process is much, much faster. The only issue are the measuring baskets they use: it's exactly a case where there needs to be an EU mandated sizer which avoids any and all doubts about whether something fits or not.

The other thing is that there really should be some method in airports to verify the size of the bag before security. The current model of conducting checks at the gate leads to arguments and conflict, something that should be dealt with long before the boarding process.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The other thing is that there really should be some method in airports to verify the size of the bag before security. The current model of conducting checks at the gate leads to arguments and conflict, something that should be dealt with long before the boarding process.

There are pretty much always sizers before security. That passengers choose not to use them and chance their arm isn't the airline's fault, and it's not necessarily sensible to slow down security by having them check.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Feb 2026 ==

I think what's really needed is for a standardised underseat baggage size which reflects reality.

The problem is that the space under seats varies and replacing seats is expensive. Though I suppose if everyone just had an underseat bag they would all fit in the overheads anyway, as they are really quite small.

 

[Farigiraf]

Otherwise known as offering passengers the choice to not pay for something they're not using.

How often do you travel internationally with a single small rucksack though? I'm guessing the people who travel on the minimum baggage allowance make up a very small proportion of the total passengers travelling on budget airlines.

I'm supportive of this change, even if it's just by a negligible amount, as it would show some progress towards regulating the dishonest tactics of budget carriers. I know that Ryanair, Easyjet etc. would just increase fares to combat this, but that would actually make it simpler than how it currently is, where the advertised flight ticket price is meaningless and the real lottery is in how much it costs to add a single suitcase or trolley bag - which they don't tell you until fairly late into the booking, and can often double the cost of the flight.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'm supportive of this change, even if it's just by a negligible amount, as it would show some progress towards regulating the dishonest tactics of budget carriers. I know that Ryanair, Easyjet etc. would just increase fares to combat this, but that would actually make it simpler than how it currently is, where the advertised flight ticket price is meaningless and the real lottery is in how much it costs to add a single suitcase or trolley bag - which they don't tell you until fairly late into the booking, and can often double the cost of the flight.

There are ways regulation could deal with this, though, such as making airlines state the up-front price including a large cabin bag, even if you can still go on to remove that option and thus pay less. Or to require them to state three prices up front on each search (you could easily fit that) with standard symbols/colours, i.e. minimal baggage, cabin baggage and one 23kg* checked bag, again even if they offer the option to choose a lighter bag for less.

The key is removing the price obfuscation. If customers genuinely want the complexity of a la carte pricing, fine. But it is mostly deliberately obfuscatory, i.e. you're drawn in by that cheap headline fare and then find that the 99p flight costs £150 by the time you've got a bag in the hold and a full size cabin bag for your large laptop and SLR camera.

But as I've said before (and is almost also relevant to the thread I created about differences in what "normals" and enthusiasts prefer) there's a feeling among expert passengers (whether enthusiasts or not) that is similar to the whole MoneySavingExpert culture, i.e. a fairly large body of people who specifically enjoy getting the best value out of complex and obfuscatory pricing systems at the cost of those who don't manage that, and often a fair bit of condescension towards those people who don't. And those people shout quite loudly, because they're all over X and various other influencer platforms, and thus affect airline publicity. So simpler (actually simpler, not LNER simpler*) models are often made to make the airline look bad even if for most customers they're not.

* It would be interesting to see what the influencer reaction to the genuine simplification low costs initially brought in would have been (before the nickel-and-diming kicked in) - one set of fares, one set of conditions, single fare pricing, all fares semi-flex** - I am not sure it would be as positive as we might think? Freddie Laker's Skytrain was I think in receipt of a lot of criticism and that was even simpler again, operating fixed walk-up fares and not demand pricing...

** I can genuinely see people shouting "why should I have to pay for a semi flexible fare when I'm OK with fixed" - yet that is the low cost model - all fares are changeable for a fixed fee plus fare difference, there aren't multiple levels of flexibility in most cases. This is the model that led to the Advance fare on the railway.

 

[gabrielhj07]

How often do you travel internationally with a single small rucksack though? I'm guessing the people who travel on the minimum baggage allowance make up a very small proportion of the total passengers travelling on budget airlines.

Nearly every time I fly abroad.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Nearly every time I fly abroad.

A lot of people do, but it will depend on the size of the person. Something people often don't realise is that there is roughly twice the amount of fabric in XXL clothes compared to S (I worked this out a while back based on this sort of debate).

Looking at Ryanair bag sizes:

Underseat: 40x30x20cm = 24,000 cm^2
Large carry on: 55x40x20 = 44,000 cm^2

Yes, the large carry on is roughly (slightly less than) twice the volume of the underseat.

Thus, for me as size XXL, given that most of the luggage will be clothing, it is precisely as hard for me to pack to fit in a large carry on (ignoring for now that I could have both) as it is for someone of size S to pack to fit in a small carry on.

Those who sanctimoniously shout that they can easily do a week away with an underseat may wish to consider that before doing so if they are more like S or M sized. And those who are XXL sized who would do that (and thus only be able to take a couple of T-shirts for a week), I hope you're going to wash your clothes or you don't sweat much, as otherwise people aren't going to enjoy sitting next to you on the way home

 

[Chester1]

How often do you travel internationally with a single small rucksack though? I'm guessing the people who travel on the minimum baggage allowance make up a very small proportion of the total passengers travelling on budget airlines.

I'm supportive of this change, even if it's just by a negligible amount, as it would show some progress towards regulating the dishonest tactics of budget carriers. I know that Ryanair, Easyjet etc. would just increase fares to combat this, but that would actually make it simpler than how it currently is, where the advertised flight ticket price is meaningless and the real lottery is in how much it costs to add a single suitcase or trolley bag - which they don't tell you until fairly late into the booking, and can often double the cost of the flight.

If I am away 4 days or less I am quite happy with a 24 litre under seat bag that Ryanair allows. EasyJets under seat bag limit is 30 litres and I can use that 5 days or much longer if there is washing machine where I am staying. The pricing problem would be dealt with by forcing airlines to include it in advertised prices but allowing the large bag to be removed for those that don't want to pay for it.

There are ways regulation could deal with this, though, such as making airlines state the up-front price including a large cabin bag, even if you can still go on to remove that option and thus pay less. Or to require them to state three prices up front on each search (you could easily fit that) with standard symbols/colours, i.e. minimal baggage, cabin baggage and one 23kg* checked bag, again even if they offer the option to choose a lighter bag for less.

The key is removing the price obfuscation. If customers genuinely want the complexity of a la carte pricing, fine. But it is mostly deliberately obfuscatory, i.e. you're drawn in by that cheap headline fare and then find that the 99p flight costs £150 by the time you've got a bag in the hold and a full size cabin bag for your large laptop and SLR camera.

But as I've said before (and is almost also relevant to the thread I created about differences in what "normals" and enthusiasts prefer) there's a feeling among expert passengers (whether enthusiasts or not) that is similar to the whole MoneySavingExpert culture, i.e. a fairly large body of people who specifically enjoy getting the best value out of complex and obfuscatory pricing systems at the cost of those who don't manage that, and often a fair bit of condescension towards those people who don't. And those people shout quite loudly, because they're all over X and various other influencer platforms, and thus affect airline publicity. So simpler (actually simpler, not LNER simpler*) models are often made to make the airline look bad even if for most customers they're not.

* It would be interesting to see what the influencer reaction to the genuine simplification low costs initially brought in would have been (before the nickel-and-diming kicked in) - one set of fares, one set of conditions, single fare pricing, all fares semi-flex** - I am not sure it would be as positive as we might think? Freddie Laker's Skytrain was I think in receipt of a lot of criticism and that was even simpler again, operating fixed walk-up fares and not demand pricing...

** I can genuinely see people shouting "why should I have to pay for a semi flexible fare when I'm OK with fixed" - yet that is the low cost model - all fares are changeable for a fixed fee plus fare difference, there aren't multiple levels of flexibility in most cases. This is the model that led to the Advance fare on the railway.

Its not about normals vs enthusiasts. Its about light travellers not wanting their travel costs to spike because there is a chunk of people who bring tons of stuff on holiday and want that to be the default for fares. There is another group of people who want everything to be like in the good old days before budget airlines and can pressumably afford flag carrier prices.

The pricing problem can be dealt with simply by airlines having to include the cost a second cabin bag in the advertised price. It doesn't need to be compulsory to purchase it. The EU has already done the important thing of enforcing a minimum small carry on bag size.

Nearly every time I fly abroad.

2 out of 4 times I flew abroad last year. This policy would have cost me ~£100 last year. Lots of baggage is only necessary if your staying somewhere with no washing machine or a hotel with extortionate laundry prices.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The pricing problem can be dealt with simply by airlines having to include the cost a second cabin bag in the advertised price. It doesn't need to be compulsory to purchase it. The EU has already done the important thing of enforcing a minimum small carry on bag size.

Yes, the idea of showing that in the headline price and offering a minus price to remove it when you click through is probably a reasonable compromise.

Or as I note above show three headline prices on the initial search results. One with small only, one with large and one with one 23kg checked, with a standardised set of symbols so it's easy to compare. Then each person can easily look for what they want.

I'd also standardise large carryon sizes to 55x40x20 minimum (airlines could offer larger but not smaller). That size fits the smaller bins on Boeings, and on small prop aircraft "delivery at aircraft" handing in always worked perfectly well. A menu of checked bag sizes is fine, but the default should be 23kg and effectively unlimited size - Ryanair's default 15kg was deliberately there to catch people out (it's hard to pack a standard medium trolley with clothes and go over 23kg, you'd have to fill it with bricks, bottles of wine or similar, but it mostly will be over 15kg).

Indeed the key motivation is to remove the catching-people-out thing, not to remove the choice. A sensible set of defaults shown in headline prices, and the option to consciously remove them later if you don't want them.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 3 Feb 2026 ==

Lots of baggage is only necessary if your staying somewhere with no washing machine or a hotel with extortionate laundry prices.

I don't think I've ever seen a hotel with reasonable laundry prices. As I don't really have premium clothing, the pricing is often such that it would be cheaper for me to buy new than have washed, particularly with stuff like T-shirts and underwear. Pricing is basically always set to rinse business travellers who don't care.

Hostels of course often have self service washing facilities at a reasonable price. But it's heading into MoneySavingExpert territory to be spending a chunk of your holiday washing clothes in a tiny sink and trying to drape them over the aircon outlet rather than simply paying for a bigger bag and enjoying all of it out seeing stuff.

 

[gabrielhj07]

A lot of people do, but it will depend on the size of the person. Something people often don't realise is that there is roughly twice the amount of fabric in XXL clothes compared to S (I worked this out a while back based on this sort of debate).

With respect, this is not the airline's problem. Their job is to run an efficient operation, and it is quite reasonable to be charged more for bringing more weight aboard the aeroplane.

 

[Bletchleyite]

With respect, this is not the airline's problem. Their job is to run an efficient operation, and it is quite reasonable to be charged more for bringing more weight aboard the aeroplane.

For clarity I'm not referring to the reasonableness of the charges, but rather to the relentless sanctimoniousness of people who can do a week away on an underseat because either (a) they don't care about smelling offensive by the end of the week because they only took one change of clothing (I care if the person next to me does), or (b) they're five foot six and skinner than a pencil, and thus their clothes are tiny. If they want to waste a chunk of their holiday washing clothes then that's not something to be sanctimonious about either, it's just a time-money value judgement.

Personally I will generally book a checked bag and enjoy breezing through security with a small over-shoulder bag with hardly anything in it. It's liberating and I can take what I want. I don't see why everyone should be forced to pay for that, but it should certainly be possible to select to see headline prices in a search with that included rather than it hidden away as is common. And I can see that advertised prices in publicity should perhaps be required to show three prices with equal prominence, one with minimal baggage, one with a carry on and one with a 23kg checked.

 

[gabrielhj07]

Personally I will generally book a checked bag and enjoy breezing through security with a small over-shoulder bag with hardly anything in it.

That’s the way to do it.

And I have nothing against people bringing more clothes on holiday. I object to everyone being charged for carry-on baggage by EU diktat because a handful of people didn’t read the rules when they bought the ticket.

 

[signed]

The other thing is that there really should be some method in airports to verify the size of the bag before security. The current model of conducting checks at the gate leads to arguments and conflict, something that should be dealt with long before the boarding process.

Beauvais (and I assume other airports in the Ryanair hub) has a bouncer post-BP scan but pre-security that has people use the sizer there, for all the airlines serving the airport though.

 

[Hornet]

That’s the way to do it.

And I have nothing against people bringing more clothes on holiday. I object to everyone being charged for carry-on baggage by EU diktat because a handful of people didn’t read the rules when they bought the ticket.

There is nothing I enjoy more at an Airport, than watching people being pulled with oversized bags, trying to squeeze them in the sizers, then being charged. You agreed to the T&C's when you bought the ticket. Don't whine when you get caught out. As for the EU they can F off. There can't be much going on in the world if carry-on baggage is high on your priorities. I don't want to go back to the days of forking out the equivelent of £350 (£84 ticket price I paid in 1984) for a return London Dublin flight, just because some unelected EU Commissioner wants to take his suitcase on a plane. Hope O'Leary tells them to F off as well.

 

[The exile]

How often do you travel internationally with a single small rucksack though? I'm guessing the people who travel on the minimum baggage allowance make up a very small proportion of the total passengers travelling on budget airlines.

For me - any short break (ie long weekend).

 

[Hadders]

I’m just back from a long weekend in Spain, managed with an under seat bag on Ryanair.

Occasionally we’ll pay extra for a carry on bag, but it depends on what we’re doing and how much stuff we need.

I’m far from the only one doing this.

 

[gabrielhj07]

There is nothing I enjoy more at an Airport, than watching people being pulled with oversized bags, trying to squeeze them in the sizers, then being charged. You agreed to the T&C's when you bought the ticket. Don't whine when you get caught out. As for the EU they can F off. There can't be much going on in the world if carry-on baggage is high on your priorities. I don't want to go back to the days of forking out the equivelent of £350 (£84 ticket price I paid in 1984) for a return London Dublin flight, just because some unelected EU Commissioner wants to take his suitcase on a plane. Hope O'Leary tells them to F off as well.

Hear, hear

 

[Bletchleyite]

There is nothing I enjoy more at an Airport, than watching people being pulled with oversized bags, trying to squeeze them in the sizers, then being charged. You agreed to the T&C's when you bought the ticket. Don't whine when you get caught out. As for the EU they can F off. There can't be much going on in the world if carry-on baggage is high on your priorities. I don't want to go back to the days of forking out the equivelent of £350 (£84 ticket price I paid in 1984) for a return London Dublin flight, just because some unelected EU Commissioner wants to take his suitcase on a plane. Hope O'Leary tells them to F off as well.

This is the sort of MoneySavingExpert type line I was referring to. It doesn't mean I think you should have to pay for a bag you don't want, but airlines like Ryanair really try to catch people out who have a bag that's millimetres over, particularly soft bags which are easier to stow anyway but more likely to "trip up" the gauge. I wouldn't be opposed to legislation that stated that if the bag fits wholly within the sizer, however it fits, then it must be accepted. There is a need to play fair on these matters. and Ryanair's whole business model is not based around playing fair, it's based around catching people out. And of the people it catches out some are wilfully taking the mick, but others are just genuine passengers who think it'll act reasonable in the way pretty much every other business does and not worry too much if a soft rucksack needs a bit of a push to go in but does still go in.

The idea of an a-la-carte menu of services is fine as long as it's not obfuscatory (which it sometimes is, to be fair). But a business model specifically based around catching people out by way of unusual and very specific rules (e.g. classically the way Ryanair only offered a 15kg hold bag when 23kg was the standard elsewhere, though I think it offers a choice now) has no morals, and regulation really is necessary to ensure organisations can't profit in this sort of manner.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

How often do you travel internationally with a single small rucksack though?

Well I am following this thread with interest because I am getting used to retirement and traveling in the EU again. So baggage information is very relevant so thanks.

To answer the question - all the time. However, that was because I had a home in the USA and one in the UK so did not need to have luggage apart from a very small rucksack. I did get pulled once or twice because so little luggage did cause suspicion (in the USA anyway).

 

[sk688]

One could almost argue for carry on to be chargeable (bar a small personal item) and checked to be free. The plane has lots of space underneath which was designed for luggage.

Aer Lingus moved to this model during COVID , with a free 10kg checked bag or chargeable unless you have status etc. Works quite well imo

 

[Chester1]

For clarity I'm not referring to the reasonableness of the charges, but rather to the relentless sanctimoniousness of people who can do a week away on an underseat because either (a) they don't care about smelling offensive by the end of the week because they only took one change of clothing (I care if the person next to me does), or (b) they're five foot six and skinner than a pencil, and thus their clothes are tiny. If they want to waste a chunk of their holiday washing clothes then that's not something to be sanctimonious about either, it's just a time-money value judgement.

Personally I will generally book a checked bag and enjoy breezing through security with a small over-shoulder bag with hardly anything in it. It's liberating and I can take what I want. I don't see why everyone should be forced to pay for that, but it should certainly be possible to select to see headline prices in a search with that included rather than it hidden away as is common. And I can see that advertised prices in publicity should perhaps be required to show three prices with equal prominence, one with minimal baggage, one with a carry on and one with a 23kg checked.

I can easily fit the following into my 20 litre Ryanair bag and they have recently changed the limit to 24 litres:

• Tablet
• EU charger and 2 usb cables
• Headset
• 1 pair of jeans
• 2 spare shirts
• Spare jumper
• Flannel
• 4 pairs of underwear and socks
• 1 pair of pyjamas
• Toiletries in one see through bag

I am above average height and an average build. I don’t need more than that for 3 nights away. Its not about being sanctimonious, people don’t like having to pay for stuff they don't use and especially when the seller doesn't want to force bundling. The only thing I do maximise space is have a shower the day I leave and put on a fresh set of clothes.

I don't think I've ever seen a hotel with reasonable laundry prices. As I don't really have premium clothing, the pricing is often such that it would be cheaper for me to buy new than have washed, particularly with stuff like T-shirts and underwear. Pricing is basically always set to rinse business travellers who don't care.

Hostels of course often have self service washing facilities at a reasonable price. But it's heading into MoneySavingExpert territory to be spending a chunk of your holiday washing clothes in a tiny sink and trying to drape them over the aircon outlet rather than simply paying for a bigger bag and enjoying all of it out seeing stuff.

Washing a pair of trousers and a couple of shirts in a decent hotel will cost less than a tenner and for me it makes an Easjet under seat bag (30 litres) last a week. The big difference I suspect between you and many posters is type of accommodation. In the last year I have gone away with family twice and we have stayed in apartments. Its not much effort washing clothers if there is a washer dryer in your apartment with free laundry capsules.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I can easily fit the following into my 20 litre Ryanair bag and they have recently changed the limit to 24 litres:

• Tablet
• EU charger and 2 usb cables
• Headset
• 1 pair of jeans
• 2 spare shirts
• Spare jumper
• Flannel
• 4 pairs of underwear and socks
• 1 pair of pyjamas
• Toiletries in one see through bag

I am above average height and an average build. I don’t need more than that for 3 nights away. Its not about being sanctimonious, people don’t like having to pay for stuff they don't use and especially when the seller doesn't want to force bundling. The only thing I do maximise space is have a shower the day I leave and put on a fresh set of clothes.

What's sanctimonious is people criticising others for being unable or unwilling to do a weekend away on a bag that size. I can tell you for certain that I cannot fit the same items you describe above into a 20 litre bag. The smallest bag I often use for travel is a 45l Alpkit rucksack, and that lot would for me near enough fill it. As I said, 2XL clothes contain a lot of fabric.

Perhaps you're not being sanctimonious, but there are certainly people in this thread who to at least some extent are, and you'll find even more of them on airline-dedicated fora.

 

[Chester1]

What's sanctimonious is people criticising others for being unable or unwilling to do a weekend away on a bag that size. I can tell you for certain that I cannot fit the same items you describe above into a 20 litre bag. The smallest bag I often use for travel is a 45l Alpkit rucksack, and that lot would for me near enough fill it. As I said, 2XL clothes contain a lot of fabric.

Perhaps you're not being sanctimonious, but there are certainly people in this thread who to at least some extent are, and you'll find even more of them on airline-dedicated fora.

It is the bag I use for work. The laptop compartment at the back can fit the spare jeans and the tablet. Everything else goes into main compartment. There is enough space to buy a small gift for the Mrs.

I don't care how much luggage other people use as long as the EU doesn't force airlines to make me pay for much more than I need. I suspect EasyJet would respond to this law by massively reducing the second cabin bag so that there is sufficient space in overhead bins for every person to bring one. The proposed minimum size is smaller than the EasyJet underseat bag and could mean that the "main" cabin bag size is the smaller of two bags allowed. They are more likely to make it the same size as the underseat bag which is probably small enough and would reduce confusion. They won't return to the situation prior to 2018 when they had to transfer bags at the gate line to the hold causing delays. The policy changed so that the number of cabin bags onboard could be rationed to match space available and force more people to buy hold baggage instead. This policy benefits people like yourself who prefer a checked bag over a second cabin bag. Under the proposed law your ticket price will go up to reflect that you may (or may not) bring a second cabin bag. The problem is advertising and this law would use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

 

[AlterEgo]

The big issue is the amount of cabin baggage people are bringing which needs to be stowed overhead, causing boarding delays and a lot of bother. If you're travelling on an underseat bag only then fair play to you. There's no need for anyone to be forced to pay more in my view.

 

[D1511]

I don't think I can remember the last time I flew anywhere without a checked in bag.
But transparent luggage pricing - both hold and cabin - is long overdue, and better regulation will speed up boarding and disembarking.
What annoys me most is people with wheeled cases that can't actually lift them into the overhead bin. How is it hand luggage if you can't even lift it?

 

[westv]

We always take hold luggage. A week's worth of packing wouldn't fit in cabin luggage and I really wouldn't choose a "long weekend" wh

I don't think I can remember the last time I flew anywhere without a checked in bag.
But transparent luggage pricing - both hold and cabin - is long overdue, and better regulation will speed up boarding and disembarking.
What annoys me most is people with wheeled cases that can't actually lift them into the overhead bin. How is it hand luggage if you can't even lift it?

Same. We could never do 7 nights using hand luggage and the thought of a "long weekend" when it might be a 15 hour round trip just to get to the closest warm place door to door has no appeal.

 

[jon81uk]

It wasn't a problem when one checked bag was also included too. The loss of that (so low headline prices could be advertised) was when the rot started.

One could almost argue for carry on to be chargeable (bar a small personal item) and checked to be free. The plane has lots of space underneath which was designed for luggage.

Completely agree, it was a lot more normal to check bags before the rise of the super low cost airlines pushed carry-on as the way forward.

The headline price should include either a full-size carry-on that can go in the overhead locker or a larger checked bag, with it being your choice which you bring. Then maybe offer a discount to those who can travel with a rucksack only. Makes the advertised price look fairer but those who really don't want it can then select the discounted price later on instead of the checked or carry-on.