Airline baggage limits

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It’s likely that you’ll take at least a couple of flights during your travels. And you’ll be carrying your stuff in your main bag and your day bag. 

There are many advantages of carry-on size luggage, yet a few good reasons to check in your main bag. 

If your main bag is big and you have to check it in, you don’t have to worry about baggage limits. As an independent traveler, you should never get remotely close to size and weight limitations for checked luggage. The only exception is if you have to carry specialized equipment for recreational or health reasons. We’ve included a bit about checked luggage limits at the bottom of this page.

As a One Bag traveler, trying to carry your luggage into the aircraft cabin, your objectives are:

• Maximize volume and weight available for your stuff — You may not need to use the maximum airline allowances, but you certainly need to stay beneath those limits.
• Reduce or eliminate baggage fees — Pay as little as possible in baggage fees — preferably nothing at all. This simply means: don’t have a bag that fails the size or weight test too often and has to be checked-in.
• Ensure the safety of your luggage — Reduce the risk of theft, loss or damage.
• Keep your stuff handy — Have the contents of your main bag available when you need them.

Carry-on size

DO NOT simply go out and buy a bag that the manufacturer or retailer advertises as “carry-on” size. There are no international or national standards for carry-on sizes and weights. Airlines set their own rules, which they can and do change whenever they want. New rules are always towards becoming more restrictive and expensive for passengers. That means smaller sizes and weights.

You have just two courses of action:

• Know the baggage rules for the airlines you will use — Different airlines, different rules. If your trip is not all planned and booked in advance, maybe you won’t know what airlines you’ll be on. There are third-party websites that list baggage limits for many airlines. Unfortunately, since an airline can change its rules overnight, a third-party site might be out of date. Go to the airline’s own website to check baggage limits.
• Get luggage that meets most airline limits — Maybe you don’t know what airline and what rules you will encounter. It makes sense to get a bag that complies with size limits of some of the stricter airlines (notably the low-cost carriers you should be looking to use). Most “carry-on” sized bags sold in the United States, for example, are too large for many foreign and low-cost airlines, even though most are not too strict on enforcement.

Given the uncertainty of independent travel and the need to have a costly new bag last for multiple trips, we strongly recommend the second strategy.

Size

So, what dimensions should you look for? The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an industry group that represents 250 airlines and 83% of passenger traffic has non-compulsory guidelines for airlines. Yet, major US airlines seem to set the standard for many manufacturers’ definition of “carry-on size.”

From largest to smallest:

Old IATA Guidelines

Height X Width X Depth =  56 X 45 X 25 cm (22 X 18 X 10 in)

DON’T USE THESE, as they’re more generous than many airlines now allow. The 45cm (18 in) width is the main problem — no matter how hard you crush your bag with compression straps, it will not fit in many baggage sizers. 

Common US

Height X Width X Depth = 56 X 35 X 22 cm (22 X 14 X 9 in)

You’re usually safe with a bag of these maximum dimensions, although you’ll have to accept the risk of checking it in for flights on airlines with strict enforcement of stingy rules.

New IATA Guidelines

Height X Width X Depth = 55 X 35 X 20 cm (21.5 X 14 X 8 in)

In June 2015, IATA introduced their “Cabin OK” size guidelines — but even as major international airlines (Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar, China Southern, Avianca and others) agreed to adopt them, North American airlines balked. IATA withdrew Cabin OK.

However, given the trend to more restrictive luggage allowances, the Cabin OK limits provide a likely “safe” maximum for more restrictive airlines and possibly even North American airlines in the future. Remember, if you buy a high-quality bag, you could be using it for many years and many trips to come.

Weight

Weight is checked less often than size, but there’s an increasing trend to check weight, too. Again, there are no standards, with 7 kg (15.4 lb) being fairly common. Some Asian, Gulf and low-cost airlines go as low as 5kg (11 lb), which is a very hard standard for a One Bag traveler to meet.

Three simple strategies can help you avoid getting caught with an “overweight” bag.

• Make your bag look small — Sometimes airlines don’t weigh every carry-on size bag, especially if there are lots of passengers in the line at check-in. Instead, they will select bags that look heavy. Bags that are obviously stuffed and bulging look heavy. So do backpacks, so here’s where your travel backpack morphs into a small soft-sided suitcase.
• Maximize weight in your “personal item” — Move your heaviest items (if they’re not too bulky) to your “personal item” (next heading below) before going to the airport. Airlines almost never weight the day bag you’re carrying over your shoulder.
• Wear the bulkiest and heaviest clothing — There are lots of stories of travelers wearing multiple layers, even to the point of passing out from overheating. That’s dumb, but wearing one set of your bulkiest and heaviest clothes can help.
• Stuff your pockets — Especially if you have a jacket with plentiful pockets, there’s no harm loading them up. It will all have to pass through the scanner so you have to be careful that nothing drops out or could be snatched by someone during the process.
• Two-traveler weight splitting — If there are two of you and you’ve already maximized weight in your personal items, try to spread the weight evenly between the two main bags. That might get both bags under the limit. However, if you get it wrong, the airline could demand that you check in both bags. If this seems like a possibility, pack your bags so that you can manage a quick (repeat: quick) re-pack at the check-in counter. Transfer valuable and delicate articles into one bag to carry-on, stuffing less valuable and more durable stuff into the bag that has to be checked-in. This is worth doing, but you don’t want both bags open on the floor in front of the check-in counter while you rummage around re-packing. Sometimes, when there’s a line of passengers waiting behind you and the airline staff person realizes you’re going to re-pack right there at the check-in, they’ll let you proceed with your “overweight” bags rather than delay other passengers. Just don’t count on this happening.

The “personal item”

The “personal item” is in addition to your larger carry-on bag. Most airlines use examples of what this can be (purse, handbag, laptop bag, camera bag etc.) but some of them now provide maximum dimensions. More airlines can be expected to adopt size measures as the battle to make passengers pay for checked luggage forces more of your stuff out of the cabin.

The idea is that this item will fit under the seat in front of you or on top of your larger bag in the overhead bin. In this era of jam-packed overhead bins, it’s greedy to take up space beside your larger bag in the overhead bin.

Airlines never weigh your personal item. If you’re desperate to get under the weight limit for your other luggage, put books, laptops and other heavy things in the personal item.

Battle tactics for carry-on

The charges for checked luggage have resulted in a surge of low-level combat not only between airlines and their passengers, but also among passengers.

• Passengers vs airline — Checked baggage fees have driven passengers to try to get more aboard the plane as no-fee cabin baggage. Some passengers blatantly ignore carry on size limits and will try to get way too much on board. Unfortunately, many airlines (especially in North America) encourage this abuse.
• Airline vs passengers — The airline not only wants to make money for checked luggage — they know that there’s not enough overhead bin and under-the-seat space for all the baggage passengers want to bring aboard. 
• Passengers vs passengers — You’re competing with your fellow passengers for the available overhead bin space. If there’s not enough stowage space, you’ll be forced to check your main bag anyway. This has led to a stampede to board and grab overhead bin space.

What can you do? Well, first is to make sure you comply with the airline carry-on size rules. Then, if it looks as if the flight will be full and there’s lots of baggage in the departure lounge, you can practice “strategic boarding” to get on to the aircraft as soon as you can in order to ensure stowage of your main bag in an overhead bin.

Some airlines are orderly about boarding, especially for larger aircraft. First, they board first-class and business-class passengers, elite members of their frequent flier programs and those in need of assistance. Then they board economy class by zone or row number, starting from the rear of the plane.

Other airlines start the same way, but the economy class stage is “general boarding” (a free-for-all rush to the gate), no matter where on the plane your seat may be. General boarding is often used for smaller aircraft.

Unless you’re sure that boarding will be by section, assume general boarding.

• Book a seat in the back half of the plane — If boarding is by section or row, you’ll surely get some bin space, even if it’s many rows in front of your seat.
• Position yourself near the gate for boarding — If your seat is near the front of economy class, position yourself near the gate. Sometimes a line will form early and you should consider joining it. You will be among the first to board when general or section boarding is called. Those laid-back passengers who remain seated while casting disparaging glances at the unsophisticated passengers in the lineup are more likely to have their legitimate carry-on size bags checked for lack of space remaining in the cabin by the time they board.
• Carry your main bag by the handles — If you wear a travel backpack to the gate using the shoulder straps, it may seem big to airline staff and they could single you out to check your bag. Put the backpack straps away and carry your bag by the handles or sling shoulder strap.
• Reduce and hide your “personal item” — A loaded day backpack will look pretty big for a personal item, so try to minimize the bulk. Other types of personal item, such as messenger bags, are smaller. Regardless of type, sling your personal item over your shoulder and move it behind you as you approach the check-in desk, the gate and the aircraft door. Compared to other passengers, you will look less laden, so airline staff will be less likely to challenge your cabin baggage. 

Check-in size

For every flight you plan to take, consult the airline website before you commit to purchasing your tickets. If  you’re not going One Bag, be sure to know checked bag rules depending upon:

• Class of ticket — The cheaper your ticket, the lower your checked-in baggage allowance. A higher class of ticket may have more checked bags allowed and probably won’t charge a fee.
• Domestic versus international — Checked baggage allowances often differ between domestic flights and international flights on the same airline.
• Frequent flier privileges — If you reach elite status on an airline affinity program, you may be allowed checked luggage at no additional charge.
• Baggage transfer — If your journey involves transfer of your checked luggage to a different airline, the second airline will not apply their rules to your luggage. However, if you have to claim your luggage (to take it through Customs procedures, for example) and then check it in again, you will need to know the rules for the second airline as well.
• Type of aircraft — Especially on low-traffic domestic flights, you could find yourself boarding a small aircraft with no overhead bins capable of holding carry-on size bags. You will have to check your carry-on bag, although that often happens right beside the aircraft, so there are reduced chances of charges, loss, theft or damage.

All bags over a maximum size OR maximum weight, as determined by the airline, must be checked-in.

In the good old days, one or even two checked bags, up to 23 kg (50 lb) each, were included in the price of the ticket. No longer. Weight allowances can be as low as 15 kg (33 lb). Many airlines charge for all checked luggage, although this is done less on international flights than domestic ones. The revenue for airlines is so enticing, it probably won’t be long until every airline charges for every piece of checked luggage in economy (coach) class.

No independent traveler should get remotely close to the size or weight limits for checked luggage. If you find yourself with a big and heavy load, you need to rethink what you’re packing before leaving home. The only excuse is if you’re transporting special equipment, sporting gear or charitable donations. If you must use a big bag with heavy contents, prepare for ongoing inconvenience.

Before you decide that the “cheapest” ticket on Airline X is your best choice, find out if they charge for your checked luggage and, if so, what the cost is. It’s possible that Airline Y, who’s ticket is close in price, charges less or doesn’t charge at all.