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Luggage guides
Quick answerLuggage is measured on the outside, standing up, with wheels, handles and pockets included, and compared side by side with the airline's limit. Most carry-on failures come from a listing size that left the wheels out.
- Do all airlines have the same carry-on size?No. Published carry-on limits range from 20 inches long at Qatar Airways to 24 x 16 x 10 inches at Southwest and Frontier, with real gaps in between.
- Expandable luggage and carry-on limitsAn expansion zipper usually adds to a bag's depth, and depth is exactly the side most carry-on limits cap at 9 inches. Expand with care.
- How to avoid overweight bag feesDelta charges up to $200, JetBlue up to $150 and Frontier up to $129 for an overweight checked bag. A $7.98 scale avoids all of it.
- How luggage size is measuredAirlines measure the outside of a bag, wheels and handles included, then compare it to a sizer box. Here is how to measure your own bag the same way.
- How to pack a carry-onPacking cubes, rolled clothes and the dead space around the wheels are what actually make a carry-on hold more without pushing past its size limit.
- Luggage sizes explainedThe 20 through 30 inch labels on a suitcase are marketing sizes, not the with-wheels total an airline checks. Here is what each class actually measures.
- Which airlines publish the tightest carry-on limitsQatar Airways publishes the shortest length, Icelandair and Ryanair the lowest height, and four airlines tie at the lowest published weight cap.
- Ultra-low-cost airline bag rulesSpirit, Frontier, Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air all include a free personal item but charge extra for a full carry-on. Allegiant is not confirmed either way.
- What happens if your carry-on is too bigAn oversized carry-on usually gets gate-checked. Whether that costs money, and how much, depends on the airline and is not the same everywhere.
- What size carry-on fits the most airlinesWorked out from every airline's own published carry-on box: the smallest size that clears the most limits, and the three carriers it still cannot beat.
- What size luggage for international travelA bag sized to a US domestic carry-on limit can still fail the international leg of the same trip. Here is what actually changes once you leave the US.
- Why checked bags have weight limits23 kg (50 lb) is the standard checked bag weight across nearly every airline in this guide's data, with a 32 kg (70 lb) ceiling for a few premium fares and routes.
Carry-ons and packing gear
$7.98Check price
$59.99Check price
Samsonite Centric 2 Hardside Expandable Luggage with Spinner Wheels
22.5 x 15.5 x 9.5 in with wheels, 6.61 lb$114.07Check price
$413.99Check price