United Airlines allows a carry-on up to 22 × 14 × 9 inches including wheels and handles. No weight limit is published, but you have to lift it into the bin yourself. Not included on Basic Economy for most routes.
Measure the outside, wheels and handles included — that’s what they measure at the gate.
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Exactly 22 × 14 × 9 overall — genuinely legal with the wheels counted, which almost no other "20-inch" bag can claim. Lightest in this group, and it expands two inches.
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.
Looking at the other size too? See United personal item sizes, the full United baggage guide, or our picks for the best United bags. Flying with a camera? 14 camera bags fit — see the camera bag guide.
| Basic Economy | ✗ | Not included on most routes. The personal item is all you get. |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Economy exceptions | ! | Transatlantic and transpacific itineraries, MileagePlus Premier members, companions on the same booking, and qualifying co-brand cardholders keep the carry-on. |
| Main cabin and above | ✓ | Included on every fare above Basic Economy. |
United Express is not one rule. On CommutAir-operated flights you are allowed one personal item only. Every other United Express operator takes a carry-on, but United warns space is limited — and on United Express a gate-checked bag may come back at the jet bridge rather than baggage claim. This applies to the overhead bag, not the personal item.
Wondering how big the bins actually are? Nobody publishes that — see what is actually known about overhead bin sizes.
22 × 14 × 9 inches including wheels and handles. No weight limit is published.
Not usually, but Not included on Basic Economy for most routes.
Yes. The outside of the bag is measured, so wheels, handles and external pockets all count. A suitcase sold as a "20-inch carry-on" is often 22 inches overall.
It usually gets gate-checked, which is free. You collect it at the jet bridge or baggage claim.
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