Emirates allows a cabin bag of 55 × 38 × 22 cm — 21.7 × 15 × 8.7 inches — and weighs it at 7 kg (15.4 lb), which most US carriers never do. Emirates publishes no personal item dimensions.
Fare class: Varies by cabin rather than by Economy fare tier.
The biggest shock on this list. Emirates Economy is one piece at 7 kg, and the policy publishes no separate personal item at all. Seven kilos is roughly an empty hard-shell spinner plus a laptop. US travellers routinely assume a carry-on plus a backpack; Emirates does not offer that in Economy.
Measure the outside, wheels and handles included — that’s what they measure at the gate.
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Built to maximum-legal geometry on purpose. The flat 22 × 14 × 8 box wastes almost no sizer volume, and it’s the only backpack here strictly inside 22 × 14 × 9 on all three axes.
A pound and a half for 45 litres inside a legal carry-on footprint, and it converts to a backpack. Nothing else here comes close on weight.
A ripstop bomber duffel with lockable zips and stowable backpack straps that packs down into itself. The durability pick.
The reference point for one-bag travel. Suspended mesh backpanel, stowaway harness, a proper hipbelt, clamshell opening.
9.1" depth is a hair over the nine-inch box, but it’s soft and compresses. Legacy S/M and M/L versions still circulate with different specs.
The women’s-fit sibling to the Farpoint. Identical outer dimensions, different harness and torso geometry.
55 × 38 × 22 cm, which is 21.7 × 15 × 8.7 inches, up to 7 kg (15.4 lb).
Emirates publishes no dimensions for a personal item. Emirates Economy is one piece of cabin baggage at 7 kg — there is no separate under-seat allowance published at all.
No — it is 0.3 inches over. Emirates allows 21.7 × 15 × 8.7 inches, and the standard US 22 × 14 × 9 does not fit inside that.
Varies by cabin rather than by Economy fare tier.
Of the bags we track, 5 of 16 carry-ons fit the cabin limit. All of them are under the weight limit empty.
Manufacturers publish dimensions inconsistently, and a “20-inch” spinner is almost never 20 inches once you count the wheels. Where a brand states dimensions including wheels and handles, that’s the number we use. Where it only publishes the case, we say so on the card. Airlines measure the outside of your bag — wheels, handles, straps and all. Anything marked borderline is down to the gate agent, and remember that a soft bag squashes into a sizer while a hard shell won’t.
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Limits verified August 2026 against each carrier’s published policy. Airlines change these without notice — always confirm before you fly. Spirit Airlines ceased operations on 2 May 2026 and is no longer listed.
Airline Bag Size Checker v1.0.15 · last updated 2026-08-12