If you are not planning a trip for more than a few days, you can usually pack everything you need in your hand luggage and personal items. On longer trips, you may need to put all your clothes and other items in a bag, but that’s a topic for another conversation. If you plan your packing well, you may not need to check your bag at all.
This can potentially save you a lot of money on baggage fees as many airlines offer passengers free hand luggage. However, even airlines that don’t offer free hand luggage do offer free personal items on board. But since you literally take both of these types of bags with you on the plane, many people get confused which one is which.
So, let’s get this straightened out and find out everything there is to know about carry-on luggage and personal belongings.
What is hand luggage?
Hand luggage is exactly what they sound like: it’s the luggage you actually take on the plane with you. Many airlines talk about personal effects and hand luggage under the same policy and on the same page of their website because you actually take both types of bags with you on the plane. It’s also worth noting that some airlines charge extra for hand luggage, especially no-frills options like Spirit and Allegiant.
Carry-on baggage is the larger of the two bags that you must store in the overhead bin when you board a plane. It’s kind of the middle ground between a small personal item and a large checked-in baggage that you check in at the ticket office at the airport. For many trips, you can pack all the necessary clothing in your hand luggage and avoid checked baggage fees altogether. As long as you get the correct hand luggage.
To make it easier for you to find the right carry-on bag for almost every airline, check out the following carry-on options:
July hand luggage
Standard hand luggage on departure
Chicago Hardside Travel Club
Travelers’ club
Amazon.com
$43.83
Made By Design Hardside Spinner Suitcase
Samsonite Winfield 2 Hardside hand luggage
What is personal property?
While hand luggage can make up the bulk of most people’s luggage, personal items are arguably the most important bag you take on a flight. This is a smaller bag like a backpack, bag or briefcase that you actually carry around and take with you to your seat. In fact, this is the only bag you can get during the flight.
So this is where you want to store everything you need for the flight itself. Because it’s always with you, it’s also the only luggage you can guarantee won’t get lost or stolen, so it’s the perfect place to store your most important travel items. If you’re on a long flight, this is where you’ll need headphones, reading materials, a blanket, and any snacks you’ll need before landing.
Choosing the right personal item for you will be critical on your next flight.
Here are some great personal items options, no matter which bag you prefer:
Bag “Everywhere and everywhere”
Samsonite scooter with vertical wheels
Traveler’s Backpack Open Story
BoardingBlue bag under the seat
July Carry All Backpack Series 2
Another great thing about personal items is that every major airline in the US allows all passengers to take their personal items on a flight free of charge, while some of them charge extra for hand luggage. Everything is better when it’s free!
Restrictions on the size of hand luggage and personal items
I mentioned above that hand luggage is usually larger than personal items, but you might be wondering how big both types of luggage can be. After all, there is nothing worse than arriving at the airport and arriving at the boarding gate only to realize that your bags are too big and you only need to pay extra to get them on the plane. So how big can they be?
hand luggage they are easier to talk about, since there is a standard set of measurements that are used most airlines in business: 22 x 14 x 9 inches (56 cm x 36 cm x 23 cm). These sizes are further supported by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which says the most common size is 45 linear inches (22 + 14 + 9 = 45). Some airlines offer slightly different sizes, such as Southwest, but they are almost always larger. Therefore, if you choose a standard size hand luggage, you should not have any problems when transferring from one airline to another.
Personal items, on the other hand, don’t have the same standard as is common in the industry, except for the fact that they all require it to fit under the seat in front of you. In addition, many airlines do not have specific size requirements. However, those who do usually somewhere between 16” x 13” x 7” and 18” x 14” x 8”.
Airline policies regarding carry-on baggage and personal effects
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that all major airlines allow passengers to carry personal items at no extra cost, but some charge extra for carry-on baggage. This is entirely up to the airline, but a general rule of thumb is that cheaper, no-frills airlines usually charge extra for carry-on luggage, and the big airlines we’re all familiar with don’t. At least for the most part.
Now I could spend a few more hours writing here about each airline’s hand luggage and personal belongings policy so you can spend a few more hours reading. But let’s be honest, who has time for that right now? Luckily, we have already taken the time to do just that in the past by studying the policies of every major airline in the country.
So if you know which airline you’re flying with, you can simply follow the links below to read all about hand luggage and personal belongings.
These links will take you to the carry-on baggage rules of any airline you are interested in:
…and these links will take you to the airlines’ policies regarding personal effects: