Fly With 10kg Allowance & No Fees

In the good old days of travel, when you booked a holiday, checked baggage was always included in the ticket price. Few restrictions existed and generally it was pretty straightforward.

Standard weight allowance was 20kg/44lbs or up to 23 kg/50lbs on most airlines. Hand luggage was never a main focus – just a few things we didn’t want to pack in the hold. Also, we traveled with confidence that our checked bags would arrive at the same destination. Flight delays were uncommon.

But times have changed. Today, airlines differ in their baggage rules and charge extra for luggage. It can be quite stressful and expensive working out what you can and can’t take. This is why, 20 years on, we’re writing a 10kg allowance (22 pounds) and no fees post.

Tips to Get Around Airline Luggage Rules

Today, in 2025 and cabin baggage is a whole new ball game!  Take this common scenario… An online airfare sounds like a bargain at £10 each way from London to Europe.  

We quickly book the flight online before the fare goes up but upon proceeding to ‘Add Your Bags’ to the reservation, we face the dreaded baggage charges. Suddenly, the cost of taking checked luggage is now more expensive than the seat itself! Even hand luggage fees often apply. Does this sound familiar?

Having been faced with checked baggage charges of £60 each way for a 20kg/44lbs case as well as additional restrictions on cabin bag size, we have come up with a suite of options to beat the baggage burden. Follow our travel packing tips and your baggage weight and charges will reduce!

1. Reduce Cabin Baggage to 10 kg (22 pounds)

Many airlines have a free bag allowance (or reduced costs) if you travel with 10kg/22lbs on board as cabin or hand baggage.  In other words – a ‘10kg allowance and no fees‘ policy. 

Jet2 and British Airways are particularly generous with the option of also bringing a small bag onboard as hand luggage as long as it fits under your seat. Just select their BASIC fare when you book the flight and there is nothing else to pay.

In Europe, Ryanair offer low cost fares but only one small bag (40x20x25cm) is allowed on their BASIC LIGHT fare. This is very limiting but rather than opt for the full checked case or REGULAR fare at this stage, continue with the BASIC and add your baggage in at the next steps. It is generally cheaper to do this but you get the same allowance of a cabin bag (55x40x20cm) and the small bag and Priority Boarding for around $25 each way.

Try these steps with any airline and contrast what each fare group offers.

To make sure, your baggage fits with airline dimensions, measure carefully. We love the Cabin Max Metz BackPack . Take a look to see if it works for you.

2. Consider WANTS vs NEEDS!

Now, you might be thinking – 10kg/22lbs – I can’t survive on that!

Is it worth the hassle to get to a 10kg allowance & no fees? Let me tell you, we used to feel the same way but now it’s our preferred method and it’s very rare that we check in a hold bag. So what’s our secret?

Well, picture it now. You lay out everything you want to take with you – shoes, bags, dresses, tops, swimsuits, toiletries. You pack it, pay your extortionate baggage charges and lug half your wardrobe in your 20kg case.  BUT, how often do you come back with only half of it used!  Yep, that used to be us too!

Try this: Sort everything lying on your bed into 2 piles.  It doesn’t take long! You’ll be amazed how much you can reduce your load by.  Also don’t forget that HOW you pack your clothes matters – we swear by rolling them and using packing cubes.  

If we’re honest it’s all about NEEDS vs WANTS. Now we Ask: What do we NEED to take and what do we WANT to take?

Set a Vacation Clothing Allowance

Destinations, seasons and holiday types vary of course for each trip.  But we’ve happily travelled with 10kg hand baggage allowance and no fees ‘suitcase’ to many places from Italy, Road Trip In Montenegro & Albania, Iceland, twice to Greece each time between 5-7 days. More recently, we did a 10 day trip to St Lucia with cabin luggage only.

Using packing cubes, my 10kg case for a 7 day trip to Crete Greece contained:

• beach skirts; beach shoes (x3)
• pairs of shorts (x3)
• vest tops/beach tops (x8)
• bikini (x4)
• 1 beach towel
• 2 pairs of evening sandals
• dresses (x6)
• 1 skirt
• 2 evening tops
• sun hats (x2)
• a hairbrush
• a couple paperback books
• a beach bag
• hair accessories, toiletries that are not liquids

It’s easy to pop our beloved Max Metz rucksack in the small ‘under the seat’ area of the plane. Place 100ml toiletries allowance in a plastic bag along with adapters, headphones, travel documents etc.

Some airports are phasing out the need to remove liquids for security checks so they can stay in your luggage. But you will still need to stick to the 100ml allowance.

3. Pack Toiletries Smartly

Can’t travel without your favourite products? This is always a tricky one. Shampoos, conditions, sun cream weigh a lot and take up valuable space.  

You’ll notice in our list we didn’t pack any of these in cabin baggage due to strict 100ml regulations. You can pack a lot of your liquids in your plastic bag allowance if you follow our tips below:

1. Always use a clear zip-up plastic hold all bag (see photo above). They are stronger and it’s easy to stack items.
2. Use 100ml plastic bottles to fill up with shampoo & essentials or buy miniature ones.
3. How much make-up? Do Needs vs Wants  check again; we try to stick to 1 lipstick; 1 mascara, little blusher and a tinted SPF moisturizer.
4. Stick deodorants, stick/powder blush, makeup-up pencils, soap & shampoo bars aren’t classed liquids so can go in cabin bags.
5. Most hotels, B&Bs, Air B&B supply shampoos, shower gel but check ahead. If you do need a full size of the products keep reading for a solution and a top tip of ours.
6. If you NEED full size items and are travelling from the UK BUY THESE TOILETRIES AIRSIDE! 
7. Most UK airports have a toiletry store called Boots. You can pre-order full size products through ‘Click and Collect’ and pick them up in store at the airport once you clear Security!  Use your loyalty Boots Advantage Card to receive points and make savings!  Leave enough room in your carry on to squeeze them in. Do remember you won’t be able to bring full size home!
8.  Store all liquids in a smaller bag just in case there are any spillages. Don’t want to ruin your fabulous outfits all neatly rolled up! 

4. Final Hand Baggage Tips!

• A small liquid sachet of travel wash is worth packing and takes up very little room in your zipped liquid bag.
• Books. We love audibles and paper books. Hotels often have libraries so consider this before bringing with you. Kindles are a huge space saver.
• Invest in a compact adapter to charge several appliances at once:- I-phone/I-Pad headphones, smart-watch etc.
• Wear bulkier items like a jacket or coat and travel in your heaviest shoes.
• If you don’t need a coat, take a thin long sleeved top to wear as planes can get chilly. Or girls, a pretty scarf doubles as a beach wrap!

Practice 10kg Packing

So, there you have it!  We find it far less stressful packing with less. We avoid queues at airports at check-in. No more worrying about checked luggage going missing.

We save energy from not having to lift heavy cases around and have less internal debate about what to wear.  

Even if you’re driving, try and keep your luggage to a minimum. Who needs the stress of over-packing?

The best part of all this planning is that we can spend more time relaxing and exploring. No fees means we have more money to spend and less to unpack.

When we turf everything out of our suitcase back home, there’s less laundry too:)  Now, that’s an incentive for 10kg allowance and no fees.

Happy Packing!