Personal item size by airline

40 x 30 x 15 cm (16 x 12 x 6 in) is the most common personal item size, and US airlines often allow up to 18 x 14 x 8 in (46 x 36 x 20 cm). The tables below show the under-seat bag limit for 110 airlines. Where an airline publishes no dimensions, the row says so, and the item only has to fit under the seat.

Carry-on size by airline →
Carry-on Personal item
IN CM
HOME › COMPARE › PERSONAL ITEM

North America

Personal item size for US, Canadian and Mexican airlines

18 x 14 x 8 in (46 x 36 x 20 cm) is the personal item limit at American, Frontier and Viva Aerobus. United allows 17 x 10 x 9 in, and JetBlue 17 x 13 x 8 in. Delta, Southwest, Alaska and Hawaiian publish no dimensions, so a backpack or handbag only has to fit under the seat. On Frontier and other ultra-low-cost basic fares, this is the only free bag.

AM Aeromexico → MAX SIZE 17.5 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AC Air Canada → MAX SIZE 17 × 13 × 6.5 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included TS Air Transat → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AS Alaska Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included G4 Allegiant Air → MAX SIZE 18 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AA American Airlines → MAX SIZE 18 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included XP Avelo Airlines → MAX SIZE 17 × 13 × 9 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included MX Breeze Airways → MAX SIZE 17 × 13 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included LF Contour Airlines → MAX SIZE 17 × 10 × 9 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included DL Delta Air Lines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included F8 Flair Airlines → MAX SIZE 17 × 13 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included F9 Frontier Airlines → MAX SIZE 18 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included HA Hawaiian Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included B6 JetBlue → MAX SIZE 17 × 13 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included PD Porter Airlines → MAX SIZE 17 × 13 × 6.5 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included WN Southwest Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included SY Sun Country Airlines → MAX SIZE 17 × 13 × 9 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included UA United Airlines → MAX SIZE 17 × 10 × 9 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included VB Viva Aerobus → MAX SIZE 18 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included Y4 Volaris → MAX SIZE 17.5 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included WS WestJet → MAX SIZE 16 × 13 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included

Europe

Small bag and under-seat bag size for European airlines

40 x 30 x 15 cm is the small bag size at Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, British Airways, Air France, KLM and Iberia. Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling and Jet2 allow a deeper 40 x 30 x 20 cm bag, and easyJet's free under-seat bag is 45 x 36 x 20 cm. On these low-cost airlines the small bag is the only cabin bag included in the base fare.

A3 Aegean Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included EI Aer Lingus → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included EN Air Dolomiti → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included UX Air Europa → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AF Air France → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included JU Air Serbia → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included BT airBaltic → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included OS Austrian Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included BA British Airways → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included SN Brussels Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included DE Condor → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included OU Croatia Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 4 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included U2 easyJet → MAX SIZE 17.5 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included EW Eurowings → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 10 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AY Finnair → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included BF French Bee → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included IB Iberia → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included FI Icelandair → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AZ ITA Airways → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included LS Jet2 → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included KL KLM → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included LO LOT Polish Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 14 × 4.5 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included LH Lufthansa → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included N0 Norse Atlantic Airways → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included DY Norwegian → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included PC Pegasus Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included FR Ryanair → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included SK SAS Scandinavian Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included GQ Sky Express → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included LX SWISS → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included TP TAP Air Portugal → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included HV Transavia → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included BY TUI Airways → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included TK Turkish Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included VS Virgin Atlantic → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included VY Vueling → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included W6 Wizz Air → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included

Asia

Personal item size for Asian airlines

40 x 30 x 10 cm is the personal item size at Singapore Airlines, EVA Air and Scoot, the thinnest common limit in the region. ANA and Asiana allow 40 x 30 x 20 cm, and Korean Air 40 x 30 x 15 cm. At ANA, Japan Airlines, Scoot and Zipair the personal item shares one weight limit with the carry-on.

KC Air Astana → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included BX Air Busan → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included CA Air China → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AI Air India → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included IX Air India Express → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 4 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included YP Air Premia → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AK AirAsia → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 4 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included NH ANA All Nippon Airways → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included OZ Asiana Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included PG Bangkok Airways → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included CX Cathay Pacific → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included 5J Cebu Pacific → MAX SIZE 14 × 8 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included CI China Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included CZ China Southern Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included BR EVA Air → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 4 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included 6E IndiGo → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included JL Japan Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included 7C Jeju Air → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included LJ Jin Air → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included KE Korean Air → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included MH Malaysia Airlines → MAX SIZE 14 × 10 × 10 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included PR Philippine Airlines → MAX SIZE 17.5 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included TR Scoot → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 4 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included SQ Singapore Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 4 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included JX Starlux Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included TG Thai Airways → MAX SIZE 15 × 10 × 5 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included VN Vietnam Airlines → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included ZG Zipair → MAX SIZE 17.5 × 14 × 10 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included

Middle East

Personal item size for Emirates, Qatar Airways and other Middle Eastern airlines

33 x 25 x 20 cm is the free under-seat bag at flydubai and Air Arabia. Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways publish no personal item size for economy and list allowed items instead, such as a handbag or laptop bag. Royal Jordanian sets 40 x 35 x 20 cm with a 5 kg limit.

G9 Air Arabia → MAX SIZE 13 × 10 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included LY El Al → MAX SIZE 12 × 7 × 7 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included EK Emirates → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included EY Etihad Airways → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included FZ flydubai → MAX SIZE 13 × 10 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included KU Kuwait Airways → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included QR Qatar Airways → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included RJ Royal Jordanian → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 14 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included

Oceania

Personal item size for Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand

45 x 33 x 20 cm at Virgin Australia is the only published personal item size among the 5 airlines here. Qantas, Air New Zealand and Jetstar describe the small item by type, such as a handbag or laptop bag, and ask that it fits under the seat. Fiji Airways sets a 4 kg limit instead of a size.

NZ Air New Zealand → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included FJ Fiji Airways → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included JQ Jetstar → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included QF Qantas → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included VA Virgin Australia → MAX SIZE 17.5 × 13 × 8 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included

Africa

Personal item size for African airlines

40 x 30 x 15 cm is the personal item size at Royal Air Maroc and Kenya Airways, the same as most European full-service airlines. Royal Air Maroc caps it at 2 kg. EgyptAir and Ethiopian Airlines publish no dimensions for the extra item.

MS EgyptAir → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included ET Ethiopian Airlines → MAX SIZE Fits under seat WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included KQ Kenya Airways → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included AT Royal Air Maroc → MAX SIZE 15.5 × 12 × 6 in WEIGHT — BASE FARE Included

What counts as a personal item?

1 personal item is included on almost every fare, and it must fit under the seat in front of you. Airlines usually accept a backpack, handbag, laptop bag or briefcase. Coats, a small bag of airport purchases and medical or assistive devices often do not count, but each airline sets its own list.

Personal item vs carry-on

40 x 30 x 15 cm (16 x 12 x 6 in) is a typical personal item, about a third of the volume of a 55 x 40 x 23 cm carry-on. The personal item goes under the seat, and the carry-on goes in the overhead bin. Full-service fares usually include both. Low-cost base fares often include only the personal item, so the overhead bag costs extra.

Personal item questions

40 x 30 x 15 cm (16 x 12 x 6 in) is the most common personal item size, used by Lufthansa, British Airways, Air France and KLM. US airlines allow larger items: American and Frontier set 18 x 14 x 8 in (46 x 36 x 20 cm).