★ EVERYDAY · TRAVEL · CARRY-ON LIMITS
22×14×9 in at 20 lb fits 8 of 8 airlines as a carry-on. Check your bag against every major US airline’s size and weight limit. Enter your bag to work out yours.
Five of the eight major US airlines use the same carry-on size — 22 × 14 × 9 in — and the other three allow more. This chart lists all eight, with the linear inches, the volume, the weight limit, and the personal-item size, and checks your bag against every one of them.
Five of the eight major US airlines use the same carry-on size: 22 × 14 × 9 in, or 45 linear inches. American, Delta, United, JetBlue, and Alaska all publish that limit, and it is the size the standard rolling carry-on is built to. Southwest and Frontier allow more: 24 × 16 × 10 in, or 50 linear inches. Spirit allows a different shape: 22 × 18 × 10 in, also 50 linear inches — wider and deeper than the standard, but no longer. Only two airlines publish a carry-on weight limit: Spirit at 40 lb and Frontier at 35 lb. The other six publish no weight limit for carry-ons, which does not mean the bag can weigh anything — it means the limit is the size, and the gate agent’s judgement. The table below lists all eight, with the linear inches, the volume, the weight limit, and the personal-item size where one is published. The airlines’ own baggage pages are the authority: re-check before you fly, because limits change.
| Airline | Carry-on (L × W × H) | Linear in | Volume | Weight limit | Personal item |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American | 22 × 14 × 9 in | 45 in | 2,772 cu in / 1.60 cu ft | No limit | 18 × 14 × 8 in |
| Delta | 22 × 14 × 9 in | 45 in | 2,772 cu in / 1.60 cu ft | No limit | Not published (must fit under seat) |
| United | 22 × 14 × 9 in | 45 in | 2,772 cu in / 1.60 cu ft | No limit | 17 × 10 × 9 in |
| Southwest | 24 × 16 × 10 in | 50 in | 3,840 cu in / 2.22 cu ft | No limit | 16.25 × 13.5 × 8 in |
| JetBlue | 22 × 14 × 9 in | 45 in | 2,772 cu in / 1.60 cu ft | No limit | 17 × 13 × 8 in |
| Alaska | 22 × 14 × 9 in | 45 in | 2,772 cu in / 1.60 cu ft | No limit | Not published (must fit under seat) |
| Spirit | 22 × 18 × 10 in | 50 in | 3,960 cu in / 2.29 cu ft | 40 lb | 18 × 14 × 8 in |
| Frontier | 24 × 16 × 10 in | 50 in | 3,840 cu in / 2.22 cu ft | 35 lb | 18 × 14 × 8 in |
At the default — a 22 × 14 × 9 in bag at 20 lb — the carry-on fits 8 of 8 airlines: American, Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, Spirit, and Frontier. As a personal item it fits 0 of 6 published sizes: a 22 × 14 × 9 in bag is a carry-on, not a personal item, and no personal-item slot takes a 14-in side against an 8-in depth.
Dimensions are compared SORTED: your bag’s longest side against the airline’s longest side, the middle against the middle, and the shortest against the shortest — because a bag can be turned to fit the sizer. A 22 × 18 × 10 in bag fits Spirit, whose limit is 22 × 18 × 10 in, but it fails Southwest, whose limit is 24 × 16 × 10 in: sorted, the bag’s 18-in side meets Southwest’s 16-in side, and 18 is over 16. The same bag fails every 22 × 14 × 9 in airline, because its 18-in side meets their 14-in side. A bag fits an airline only if every sorted side is within the limit AND the weight is within the limit, where the airline publishes one. The personal-item fit uses the sorted-dimension rule only: no airline publishes a personal-item weight limit. A 17 × 10 × 9 in bag fits United’s personal item (17 × 10 × 9 in) exactly, and fails every other published personal-item size, because its 9-in depth exceeds every other 8-in depth. A 16 × 13 × 8 in bag fits 5 of 6 personal-item sizes — American, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier — and fails United, because its 13-in side exceeds United’s 10-in personal-item width.
Setup: bag 22 × 14 × 9 in, weight 20 lb.
Line 1 — the sorted bag. Sorted longest to shortest: 22, 14, 9.
Line 2 — the standard airlines. American, Delta, United, JetBlue, and Alaska allow 22 × 14 × 9 in: 22 ≤ 22, 14 ≤ 14, 9 ≤ 9 — fits. Their linear limit is 22 + 14 + 9 = 45 in.
Line 3 — Southwest and Frontier. They allow 24 × 16 × 10 in: 22 ≤ 24, 14 ≤ 16, 9 ≤ 10 — fits. Their linear limit is 50 in.
Line 4 — Spirit. It allows 22 × 18 × 10 in: 22 ≤ 22, 14 ≤ 18, 9 ≤ 10 — fits. Its linear limit is 50 in, and its weight limit is 40 lb: 20 lb passes.
Line 5 — the weight. Frontier allows 35 lb: 20 lb passes. So the bag fits 8 of 8 as a carry-on.
Line 6 — the personal item. The largest published personal item is 18 × 14 × 8 in: sorted, the bag’s 9-in depth meets the 8-in depth, and 9 is over 8 — fails. Every published personal item has an 8-in or 9-in depth, and the bag’s 14-in side meets depths of 8 or 9 in every case, so it fits 0 of 6.
Reverse: the largest bag fitting all 8 as a carry-on is 22 × 14 × 9 in (binding limit: American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Alaska). The largest bag fitting all 6 published personal-item sizes is 16.25 × 10 × 8 in — the sorted minimum across American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier; Alaska and Delta publish no personal-item size. The heaviest bag fitting all 8 is 35 lb (Frontier binding; Spirit allows 40 lb). Linear inches: standard 45 in; Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit 50 in.
24 × 16 × 10 in: carry-on fits 2 of 8 (Southwest, Frontier only); personal fits 0 of 6. The standard airlines’ 22-in length is the binding limit.
22 × 18 × 10 in: carry-on fits 1 of 8 (Spirit only); personal fits 0 of 6. Only Spirit’s 18-in width takes the bag; Southwest’s 16-in width does not.
18 × 14 × 8 in, 15 lb: carry-on fits 8 of 8; personal fits 3 of 6 (American, Spirit, Frontier). The bag is exactly the American, Spirit, and Frontier personal-item size.
16 × 13 × 8 in, 15 lb: carry-on fits 8 of 8; personal fits 5 of 6 (American, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, Frontier). United fails: the 13-in side exceeds United’s 10-in personal-item width.
17 × 10 × 9 in, 15 lb: carry-on fits 8 of 8; personal fits 1 of 6 (United only). The 9-in depth exceeds every other published 8-in depth.
38 lb, 22 × 14 × 9 in: the size fits all 8, but the weight fails Frontier (35 lb), so the carry-on fits 7 of 8.
45 lb, 22 × 14 × 9 in: the weight fails Frontier AND Spirit, so the carry-on fits 6 of 8.
35 lb, 22 × 14 × 9 in: the weight passes both limits, so the carry-on fits 8 of 8.
Reverse — the other way round: the largest bag for all 8 is 22 × 14 × 9 in; the largest bag for all 6 personal-item sizes is 16.25 × 10 × 8 in; the heaviest bag for all 8 is 35 lb; linear inches are 45 in standard and 50 in for Southwest, Frontier, and Spirit.
The chart assumes the bag’s published dimensions include the wheels and handles, because the airlines measure the bag as it is, wheels and all. It assumes the sorted-dimension rule: a bag can be turned to fit the sizer, so the longest side meets the longest side. It assumes the weight limits are the published ones — Spirit 40 lb, Frontier 35 lb — and that the other six airlines publish no carry-on weight limit. It leaves out checked-bag limits, which are larger and heavier, and it leaves out the fare: this is a size and weight reference, NOT a fare or fee chart. Spirit and Frontier charge for carry-ons on most fares, and Basic Economy on United and JetBlue may allow a personal item only. With a 30 × 20 × 12 in bag, the carry-on fits 0 of 8 — no airline takes it. With a 0 × 0 × 0 in bag at 0 lb, it fits everywhere, which is a degenerate edge, not a real bag. Southwest’s allowance is 38.53% more volume than the standard (3,840 vs 2,772 cu in). Spirit’s is 42.86% more (3,960 vs 2,772 cu in). Rounding convention: totals are computed from unrounded values, so rounded parts may differ by a cent from their rounded sum; the volume figures are exact products of the dimensions, and the cubic feet are the cubic inches divided by 1,728.
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Carry-on fit | sorted sides ≤ limit, weight ≤ limit | Fits 8 of 8 airlines as a carry-on. |
| Carry-on airlines | the airlines that pass | American, Delta, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, Spirit, Frontier. |
| Personal-item fit | sorted sides ≤ personal-item limit | Fits 0 of 6 published personal-item sizes. |
| Personal-item airlines | the airlines that pass | none. |
| Largest bag for all 8 | sorted minimum of the carry-on limits | 22×14×9 in. |
| Largest bag for all 6 personal items | sorted minimum of the personal-item limits | 16.25 × 10 × 8 in. |
| Heaviest bag for all 8 | minimum of the weight limits | 35 lb. |
| Linear inches | L + W + H | 45 in standard; 50 in Southwest, Frontier, Spirit. |
| Southwest vs standard volume | (3,840 − 2,772) / 2,772 | 38.53% more. |
| Spirit vs standard volume | (3,960 − 2,772) / 2,772 | 42.86% more. |
| 24×16×10 in | same model | Carry-on 2 of 8, personal 0 of 6. |
| 22×18×10 in | same model | Carry-on 1 of 8, personal 0 of 6. |
| 18×14×8 in, 15 lb | same model | Carry-on 8 of 8, personal 3 of 6. |
| 16×13×8 in, 15 lb | same model | Carry-on 8 of 8, personal 5 of 6. |
| 17×10×9 in, 15 lb | same model | Carry-on 8 of 8, personal 1 of 6. |
| 38 lb | same model | Carry-on 7 of 8, personal 0 of 6. |
| 45 lb | same model | Carry-on 6 of 8, personal 0 of 6. |
| 35 lb | same model | Carry-on 8 of 8, personal 0 of 6. |
The math is exact for the numbers you enter: the linear inches are L + W + H, the volume is L × W × H in cubic inches (cubic feet are cubic inches / 1,728), and the fit is the sorted-dimension rule with the published weight limit where one exists. What the chart cannot do is guarantee the gate: check the airline’s own baggage page before you fly, because limits change, and check the bag, because the published dimensions may not include the wheels and handles. It assumes the sorted-dimension rule and the published limits as of October 2026. It leaves out checked-bag limits, fare rules, and the fact that Basic Economy on United and JetBlue may allow a personal item only. It is a size and weight reference, not a fare or fee chart. For the trip itself, see road trip vs flying; for where to stay when you land, see hotel vs Airbnb.
Bright Side Kit. "Suitcase Size Chart: Carry-On Limits by Airline 2026" https://brightoolbox.com/suitcase-size-chart/ Accessed October 25, 2026.22 by 14 by 9 inches — and 35 pounds is the heaviest bag that fits all eight. Five of the eight major airlines use 22 × 14 × 9 in as their carry-on limit, and the other three allow more, so a 22 × 14 × 9 in bag fits all 8 as a carry-on. Frontier’s 35 lb weight limit is the binding one.
22 × 14 × 9 in, or 45 linear inches. American, Delta, United, JetBlue, and Alaska all publish that limit, and it is the size the standard rolling carry-on is built to. Southwest and Frontier allow 24 × 16 × 10 in (50 linear inches), and Spirit allows 22 × 18 × 10 in (50 linear inches).
Yes, if every sorted side is within the limit. Dimensions are compared sorted — longest side against longest side — because a bag can be turned to fit the sizer. A 22 × 18 × 10 in bag fits Spirit but fails Southwest, because its 18-in side meets Southwest’s 16-in side.
16.25 × 10 × 8 in fits all six published personal-item sizes. That is the sorted minimum across American, United, Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, and Frontier. A 17 × 10 × 9 in bag fits only United’s personal item, because its 9-in depth exceeds every other 8-in depth.
Spirit (40 lb) and Frontier (35 lb) — the other six publish none. A 38 lb bag fits 7 of 8 airlines: it fails Frontier. A 45 lb bag fits 6 of 8: it fails Frontier and Spirit. At 35 lb, the bag fits all 8.
No — this is a size and weight reference, not a fare or fee chart. Spirit and Frontier charge for carry-ons on most fares, and Basic Economy on United and JetBlue may allow a personal item only. Check the fare rules on the airline’s own site before you book.