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Every airline publishes its own cabin allowance, and the small print is where trips go wrong: the bag that is free on one carrier is a paid extra on another, and six European carriers cap the under-seat depth at 15 cm, which rules out deep totes and most laptop bags. This page puts the published figures for 19 airlines side by side and checks one specific bag against each of them.
Ryanair raised its free under-seat allowance in July 2025, from 40 × 25 × 20 cm to 40 × 30 × 20 cm — roughly 20% more volume, and the biggest change to European personal-item rules in years. Wizz Air, Vueling and Transavia already allow 40 × 30 × 20 cm. If you last measured your bag before mid-2025, the limits below are roomier than you remember, and a soft bag that failed the old sizer may now pass.
Figures are each airline's published limits. "Free under-seat item" is the piece included on the cheapest fare — the one you can board with at no extra cost. Where an airline publishes no size for it, the limit is functional: it must fit under the seat in front of you.
| Airline | Cabin / carry-on limit | Free under-seat item | Jelkin 25 (25 × 17 × 14 cm) | Weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air France | 55 × 35 × 25 cm / 21.7 × 13.8 × 9.8 in | 40 × 30 × 15 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in | fits | 12 kg combined | — |
| American Airlines | 56 × 36 × 23 cm / 22 × 14.2 × 9.1 in | 45.7 × 35.6 × 20.3 cm / 18 × 14 × 8 in | fits | No published limit (most flights) | — |
| ANA | 55 × 40 × 25 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 9.8 in | — | not published | 10 kg combined | No published personal-item size; carry-on three edges total 115 cm / 45.3 in |
| British Airways | 56 × 45 × 25 cm / 22 × 17.7 × 9.8 in | 40 × 30 × 15 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in | fits | Up to 23 kg (cabin bag) | — |
| Delta | 56 × 35.6 × 22.9 cm / 22 × 14 × 9 in | — | not published | No published limit (most routes) | No published personal-item size; must fit under the seat |
| easyJet | 56 × 45 × 25 cm / 22 × 17.7 × 9.8 in | 45 × 36 × 20 cm / 17.7 × 14.2 × 7.9 in | fits | 15 kg (large cabin bag) | The bag included on every fare is the small cabin bag, 45 × 36 × 20 cm |
| Eurowings | 55 × 40 × 23 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 9.1 in | 40 × 30 × 25 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 9.8 in | fits | 8 kg (cabin bag, SMART and above) | On BASIC fares the whole allowance is the small bag, 40 × 30 × 25 cm |
| Iberia | 56 × 45 × 25 cm / 22 × 17.7 × 9.8 in | 40 × 30 × 15 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in | fits | 10 kg (cabin bag) | — |
| JAL | 55 × 40 × 25 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 9.8 in | — | not published | 10 kg combined | No published personal-item size; carry-on three edges total 115 cm / 45.3 in |
| KLM | 55 × 35 × 25 cm / 21.7 × 13.8 × 9.8 in | 40 × 30 × 15 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in | fits | 12 kg combined | — |
| Lufthansa | 55 × 40 × 23 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 9.1 in | 40 × 30 × 15 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in | fits | 8 kg (cabin bag) | Personal item is 40 × 30 × 15 cm in every class, Economy Basic included |
| Ryanair | 55 × 40 × 20 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 7.9 in | 40 × 30 × 20 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in | fits | 10 kg (priority cabin bag) | The free small bag is 40 × 30 × 20 cm and must pass the sizer |
| Southwest | 61 × 40.6 × 25.4 cm / 24 × 16 × 10 in | 47 × 34.3 × 21.6 cm / 18.5 × 13.5 × 8.5 in | fits | No published limit | Carry-on allowance is larger than the US standard |
| Spirit Airlines | 55.9 × 45.7 × 25.4 cm / 22 × 18 × 10 in | 45.7 × 35.6 × 20.3 cm / 18 × 14 × 8 in | fits | Varies by fare and route | The carry-on is a paid extra; the free personal item is 45.7 × 35.6 × 20.3 cm |
| Swiss | 55 × 40 × 23 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 9.1 in | 40 × 30 × 15 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in | fits | 8 kg (cabin bag) | Personal item is 40 × 30 × 15 cm in every class, Economy Basic included |
| Transavia | 55 × 35 × 25 cm / 21.7 × 13.8 × 9.8 in | 40 × 30 × 20 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in | fits | 10 kg combined | — |
| United Airlines | 55.9 × 35.6 × 22.9 cm / 22 × 14 × 9 in | 43.2 × 25.4 × 22.9 cm / 17 × 10 × 9 in | fits | No published limit (most flights) | Carry-on is not included on Basic Economy for most domestic routes |
| Vueling | 55 × 40 × 20 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 7.9 in | 40 × 30 × 20 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in | fits | 10 kg (cabin bag) | The free small bag on every fare is 40 × 30 × 20 cm |
| Wizz Air | 55 × 40 × 23 cm / 21.7 × 15.7 × 9.1 in | 40 × 30 × 20 cm / 15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in | fits | 10 kg | The free small bag is 40 × 30 × 20 cm |
Limits change. Confirm against your booking before you fly — the links in the table go to the full breakdown for each airline, including what the sizer test actually involves and which fares include a cabin bag.
Lufthansa and Swiss both allow a free second item of 40 × 30 × 15 cm. Fifteen centimetres is the tightest depth limit on this page, shared with Air France, KLM, British Airways and Iberia, so a 25 × 17 × 14 cm bag clears it with 1 cm to spare. The other two dimensions are far roomier than a bag this size needs, which makes depth the only figure that will ever decide the outcome at the gate.
Ryanair is the other one to watch: the free small bag is 40 × 30 × 20 cm and it has to drop into the sizer, so the bag cannot be rigid. Everything at 40 × 30 × 20 or deeper — Transavia, Vueling, Wizz Air — is comfortable.
Yes, on every airline in this table. The measurement is the whole bag including anything sticking out.
Usually not separately. It is counted inside the combined cabin allowance on Air France, KLM, ANA, JAL, Iberia and Transavia, and not weighed at all on the US carriers that publish no weight limit.
Southwest, at 61 × 40.6 × 25.4 cm for the carry-on and 47 × 34.3 × 21.6 cm for the personal item, both included on every fare and with no published weight limit.
It does at the gate. A soft-sided bag that is a centimetre over will compress into a sizer; a structured one will not. That is the practical argument for an unstructured bag on the carriers with the tightest published figures.
Figures were compiled from each airline's published baggage rules and cross-checked against the individual airline guides linked above. Sizes are given in centimetres with the inch equivalent. The comparison sorts all three edges longest-first before comparing, so orientation does not affect the result. Last reviewed October 2026.
