GaiaGeek

Since more and more airlines are charging for checking a bag on your flight, more and more people are trying to fly with only a carry-on bag. If you’re one of them, and looking to get the largest carry-on bag you can to avoid checking luggage, you need to consider what airlines you’ll be flying and whether your bag will qualify for carry-on or not.

The generally accepted maximum carry-on bag size in the U.S. is 22″ x 14″ x 9″ (55.88cm x 35.56cm x 22.86cm) or 45″ linear inches (length + width + height). While this rule holds for most domestic carriers in the United States, it doesn’t apply when you look at airlines worldwide because each airline sets their own carry-on baggage restrictions.

For instance, if you ever plan on taking your carry-on bag through Europe, you should know that Lufthansa, EasyJet and Ryanair all have a size limit of 55cm x 40cm x 20 cm or 21.65″ x 15.75″ x 7.87″. That last figure, measuring the depth of your bag, is over 1.1 inches less than the accepted 9″ limit for depth.

Air Canada lists their maximum carry on bag size as 55cm x 40cm x 23cm or 21.5″ x 15.5″ x 9″ (they list both, with the measurement in inches in parentheses). In inches, this means their accepted bag height of 21.5″ is .5″ less than the standard, although since it seems that their official measurement is in cm, you could argue it’s 21.65″ - the same as the European airlines above.

The result is that if you want a carry-on bag that will “fly” with all major airlines, you want a bag with a the following measurements:

Maximum Height: 21.65″ / 55cm
Maximum Width: 14″ / 35.56cm
Maximum Depth: 7.87″ / 20cm

Now, if your carry-on bag is soft, such as backpack or duffel bag, but with slightly larger dimensions, chances are you can still squeeze it into the baggage templates you see laying around airport check-in lines - even if it means taking out a sweater and putting it on if your bag is stuffed to the max. If your bag is of the hard, wheeled variety, you may be out of luck and forced to check your bag - and pay the fee. If you’re looking for a new bag, consider these dimensions when looking at the product specifications - in particular the maximum depth of 7.87″ or 20cm (8″ should be fine as long as it’s a soft bag).

In addition to your bag’s size, you also need to be aware of it’s weight. The most restrictive airlines in this regard are Alitalia and Malaysia Airlines, with a carry-on bag weight limit of just 5kg (11lbs). This is followed by Aer Lingus, Icelandair and Virgin Atlantic at 6kg (13.2lbs), then Air New Zealand, Emirates, Eva Air, Garuda, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways at 7kg (15.4lbs). This is another good reason to use a soft duffel bag or backpack as rolling luggage tends to start at around 7 pounds in weight and goes up to 11 pounds or more. A typical carry-on backpack, however, is generally around 3 pounds, leaving you with around 8 pounds for your clothing and everything else.

If you’re bringing a laptop, many airlines will allow you to carry it on board as a separate “personal” item, like a purse, which will go underneath the seat in front of you. Airlines have varying rules for this as well and some allow only your carry-on bag and no personal item, including Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, EasyJet, El Al, Olympic, Ryanair, SAS, South African Airways and Thai Airways. With these airlines, you’ll have to stuff your laptop or purse in with your carry-on bag and hope you don’t go over the carry-on bag weight limit (which would be especially difficult with Alitalia’s 11 pound limit).

Remember, these rules are always subject to change, so it’s always a good idea to check what the baggage rules are of the particular airline you’re considering a flight with before you book your ticket.