The most important thing for a carry on bag is size. Make sure the measurements you are seeing for your bag include the wheels if you want it to fit into an airline sizer.
Many luggage manufacturers are deceptive about this!
When I go on Amazon to buy a 28” suitcase they are like 12.5” by 20.09” by 30.95”. So why are they called a 28” suitcase?
Frequently, the advertised measurements of a bag are rounded off and may not include the wheels which are outside the bag!
Here’s a passenger ripping the wheels off his carry-on bag to make it fit in the airline’s sizer and avoid fees, while fellow travelers applauded his sticking it to the man, although I sort of think he was sticking it to himself by destroying the bag.
He broke the wheels off his suitcase to avoid having to check it in with Ryanair, saving €70. How much did that suitcase cost him? pic.twitter.com/3jN7NeBr2c
— Fly Cheaply (@FlyCheaply) May 20, 2024
Bear in mind that if your bag fits the sizer’s dimensions exactly it might get stuck. Once you get it in, you still have to get it out!
Here’s another instance of that happening!
@hotasfo_o dont die for easy jet #fyp #viral #plane #funny ♬ original sound – sam
I’ve been forced to gate check an item that fit in the sizer, and that the airline confirmed was carry-on eligible. Fortunately it wasn’t something I was charged for. And when a gate agent working for Air Canada demanded that a reporter improperly gate check a bag, that passenger called the cops on the agent. Legend!
At many airlines, the bag sizers at the gate are actually an inch larger than rules allow for carry on bags so when a bag doesn’t fit, it’s legitimately too large.
Gate agents don’t always catch bags that are just a little bit oversized. That’s especially true when there’s just a single agent working a flight, you don’t draw attention to yourself, and they’re extra busy. But when they do they will ask you to check your bag against the airline’s sizer at the gate and if it doesn’t fit, you’re required to check it.
- Sometimes a bag is within regulation size, but then it gets overstuffed. So the bag itself is fine, and you’ve overpacked. You can remove something and perhaps squeeze it in (wearing whatever item you’ve taken out, or placing it inside your personal item like purse or laptop bag).
- But luggage manufacturers often sell bags with misleading sizing. You look at the advertised size, and think that it’s allowable when it isn’t. That’s because the size of the bag itself may be advertised without including the wheels or handle (if attached to the back of the bag).
Some airlines are more generous with carry-on sizes. For instance, Southwest Airlines allows 24 inch bags. However world standard, endorsed by IATA, is 22″ x 18″ x 10″. My standard bag, then, measures just a little under each of these. I know I’ll fit wherever I go, and I can even use the right side overhead bin on Embraer E175 regional jets.