So what do Ryanair do with regard to Spain? Just keep taking the large financial penalties imposed and pass them on to the punters because the only other option i can see is for them to do what they have done in Germany and slash the number of flights (increased landing fees etc) problem is Spain is far too much of a lucrative market for them especially in high season.
Ryanair are big enough to cause serious pain to the Spanish tourism industry, and I suspect that they're quite happy to simply wait out the legal process because they know that it's highly unlikely that the Spanish Supreme Court / Constitutional Court will allow these penalties to stand. ANEA (the Spanish airports operator and de facto state monopoly) will also be lobbying heavily in favour of Ryanair, as they provide a lot of business. It's already a huge problem that they've slashed their winter schedules, and Spain is quite dependent on budget airlines to connect many of their regional centres. For example, Ryanair has quite a strong domestic network from Vigo, and even "short" connections like Vigo-Bilbao are 6-7 hours by road or 12 hours by bus.
While Spain is a lucrative market, they will simply develop new markets if Spain doesn't want to play ball. For instance, their presence at some Croatian tourist airports could be expanded massively, particularly in Split and Rijeka. But in the high season, they'll simply increase prices, because people will go to Spain regardless. No other European country (except perhaps France) has such a well developed tourist infrastructure as Spain, especially for families.
I think, ultimately, Spain is causing needless drama here. It would be better for cabin luggage to be regulated on a European level so that there's a standard size definition for 'under seat' luggage and a standard size for 'full size cabin luggage'.
I did a quick Google and was shocked to see an article on it. It was from B&M (also sold on Amazon from what I can see and maybe elsewhere) and made by a company called Bordlite. It has a massive label on it in the shop that says 'Ryanair Personal Item Approved'. Obviously nonsense as it's too big.
I do wonder how many others have been caught out in this way. It shouldn't be sold like that, and while the Ryanair sizers are actually 42x30x20cm as opposed to the published
40x20x25cm, it's still not on for them to sell something that is too big while claiming that it's approved for use on Ryanair.
I will say one thing though: the Ryanair boarding process is remarkably smoother than it used to be, especially now that they appear to be really strict on bags. People are getting used to putting their small personal item under the seat, and it's never a problem finding space in the overhead bins now. I also appreciate the fact that they're now making an effort to actually check people's boarding passes and luggage in the queue, so problematic travellers can be identified before they even reach the gate. I saw one chap in Valencia get a very clear "that luggage is not going in the cabin" message, as he had an obnoxiously large backpack, and at least two people were pulled aside for having two pieces of luggage when they'd only paid for one.
