I’m trying to.buy a backpack type of luggage for a trip. It appears that the typical dimensions allowed for carry on is 22× 14 × 9.
Do all domestic USA airlines stick to these dimensions? Are they very strict?
Any recommendations for a backpack that would fit?
Prefer Osprey brand.
A regional plane will have smaller compartments. You may be able to squash a backpack in.
Many European airlines only permit even smaller dimensions.
Paging @LSLGuy for an industry professional POV.
Varies widely.
Generally speaking, a bag of those dimensions will fit in the overhead bin of most airliners – though, as @Susan notes, many smaller regional jets will have significantly smaller overhead bins. And, from what I’ve seen, the older the plane in question, the smaller the overhead bins are likely to be.
If your bag doesn’t fit (dimensionally) in the overhead bin, or if there isn’t room in the overhead bin, you’ll need to be able to fit it under the seat in front of you (i.e., in front of your feet).
If it simply doesn’t fit in the bin nor under a seat, the most likely scenario would be that the flight attendants (or the gate agent) would have to “gate check” your bag, which would mean that it’d have to go into the plane’s cargo hold, and you’d get it back when you get to your arrival gate.
“Enforcement,” in my experience, depends on how full the plane is, whether your bag looks excessively large for a carry-on, and the mood of the gate agent.
One issue with a piece of soft luggage, like a backpack, is that if you stuff enough things into it, it’ll get “rounder,” and probably technically exceed one of the recommended dimensions.
I don’t travel enough to need such a bag, but I applaud your choice. My Osprey backpack (large, for hiking) is so, so good.
Oh… and comes with a lifetime guarantee.
Ryanair Baggage Allowance = 40 x 20 x 25 Centimetres (15.75 x 7.87 x 9.8 inches)
They are the most restrictive and you are allowed only one carry-on bag. This applies to the cheapest fare and can be increased by paying more
A useful guide for airlines, update fairly recently:
https://travel.usnews.com/features/carry-on-luggage-sizes-size-restrictions-by-airline
I use Travelpro luggage and they sell a 21” carryon bag for more restrictive airlines.
I flew Spirit Airlines once (once) and they had the gate attendant checking every single bag for size. Every one. It had to fit in a metal cage built for checking bag size. If not, the bag was checked in for cargo. Remember, Spirit charges extra for everything after the basic ticket so they really are strict on bag size for more revenue.
The ONLY time I’ve seen that cage used was in Doha, Qatar, boarding a Qatar Air flight. My wife recently bought a compliant carryon, and we are consistently bemused by the apparent lack of enforcement of supposed ize limits.
Having the same size for allowable carry on luggage would defeat the purpose of the rule: to make money. If all airlines had the same rules luggage companies would put out a suitcase that is exactly the right size.
In my experience, the no-frills carriers tend to enforce the size restriction so that you have to pay for check-in at the gate. There are others where they would let you stow the USS Missouri in the overhead bin.
I saw a video where the staff would do anything to make the bag not fit the cage so they would have to (pay to) use the check-in.
Yes, those are awesome! And with sufficient strength and determination, you can squish 'em down tight.
I was going to mention Ryanair. We have become well acquainted with their baggage restrictions. They will make you measure at the gate and if it’s even a fraction over, boom, you need to pay. The worst part about it is that it is a fraction smaller than most other carriers dimensions. We had to buy special carry-on luggage just for them
I prefer Travelpro myself because they’re designed to be repairable, unlike the Samsonite luggage I had previously.
I’ve used my Osprey Porter 46 on Southwest as a carry on with no issues. I think it’s a little too big to use as a carry on for international flights though.
I think Carry On Luggage was the worst of the Carry On films.
IME not all US airlines adhere strictly to the carryon luggage size limits. I’ve never flown Ryan Air, and from the sound of them I’m glad I haven’t. They sound like a royal PITA. I was a frequent United flyer when I was working and they were usually pretty lax on the size limits.
Be advised that the smaller commuter puddle jumpers don’t have storage space for the typical rollaboard and you often have to gate check it.
FWIW most of my domestic flying has been on United, Southwest, American, Alaskan, and JetBlue. Internationally you can add Lufthansa and Aer Lingus to that list. Those were the ones I typically flew. And IME, Lufthansa was pretty strict about keeping within the size limits.
I flew Lufthansa last year. I have flown with numerous airlines over many years and never had anyone weigh my carry on at baggage check in but they did. I was one pound over and had to put some things in my friend’s carry on.
We were carrying a bunch of gifts for family in Germany and had divided them up between us.
I went through this recently on a trip to Greece and Barcelona in which I traveled on multiple airlines solely with a carry-on travel backpack. This included flying on Greek regional turboprops which are even more restrictive with respect to carry-on dimensions than jets.
Right, it’s probably a little too big for international flights.
I went with the following specialty travel backpack:
It worked out quite well. Another pack I considered was the top travel pack recommended by Wirecutter:
As you can see, both packs I considered were 35L. I was not asked to gate check my pack on any flight (total of 7 flights).
I was inspired to travel light because of this article by Rick Steves:
…and also because none of my traveling companions were checking bags, and I didn’t want to hold the group up.
Not as bad as the one where a family got separated.
Carry On: My Wayward Son.