PACKING:IF THERE'S ONE thing more stressful than being at an airport in summer, it's the moment, be it at the check-in desk or, worse, at the boarding gates, when the air stewardess takes a look at your luggage and asks you, politely, to "step to the side".

There’s a chill in the air. She looks at you, then at your haphazardly packed case, borrowed from a friend at the last minute and stuffed to the gills with all that your measly cabin allowance will accommodate.

“If you could just put your suitcase into this space,” she says. “It has to fit in here, you see.” The words “square peg” and “round hole” spring to mind as your bulging luggage faces its mortal enemy: the baggage cage. There’s just no point, you think. You take a look at her face (unyielding) and at the cage (similarly unyielding). You fork over your €35 and surrender your bag to the demons of the hold, wishing you’d packed your extra large bottle of conditioner. So much for carry-on.

Ryanair has, of course, come up with a solution to this problem. In conjunction with Samsonite, the budget airline will sell you, along with your booking, a Samsonite suitcase (in the trademark Ryanair blue and yellow, although not quite as garish as you may expect) shipped anywhere in Europe for €79.

Not a bad deal – but if the thought of further lining Michael O’Leary’s pockets gives you pause for thought, there are alternatives to be had: suitcases that fit within Ryanair and other airlines’ strict cabin baggage limitations (55cm x 40cm x 20cm) and allow you to be chic and economical.