Last week, Ryanair threatened to charge as much as £60 return per checked-in suitcase in its drive to make four out of five passengers fly with hand luggage only. Following the announcement last week that it would be closing airport check-in desks across its network - forcing all passengers to check in online - the carrier said that from the end of 2009, passengers wishing to check luggage into the hold would be directed to baggage-drop points.

The airline has already announced that passengers attempting to board flights carrying more than one piece of hand luggage would be charged £30 at the gate - but if you’re willing to play by Ryanair’s rules, you can keep costs down. First, pay for your flight using a Visa Electron card, thus avoiding the £4.75pp fee. Then deselect priority boarding and insurance, saving about a tenner. Obviously you’ll carry no hold luggage, and if you have an infant - £38 return to sit on your lap - leave it at home. If you must use airport shops, buy only items that will fit into your hand luggage. And one last thing: don’t buy the scratch cards.

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