Bag sizes
Basic economy carry-on: is the overhead bin still included?
Type how much basic saves on your flight and how many bags you take: the calculator says whether it is still the cheaper ticket once the bag fees are added.
Basic fare or main cabin once bags are added?
Basic still saves, each way
$25
| Bag fees on basic | $50 |
| Bag fees on main | $45 |
| Extra bag cost of basic | $5 |
Online prices, one traveler.
On most US airlines the cheapest ticket still includes a full-size carry-on. Delta Main Basic, American Basic Economy, Southwest Basic, Alaska and Hawaiian Saver and JetBlue Main Base all let you bring a carry-on and a personal item, as their bag pages state. United is the exception: on most domestic trips its Basic Economy fare allows the personal item only, and a carry-on brought to the airport must be checked, for $50 in the airport lobby or $75 at the gate on tickets bought from April 3, 2026. What basic fares do cost everywhere is the checked bag: American charges Basic Economy $5 more per bag than Main Cabin on tickets issued from May 18, 2026. Before choosing basic, add the bag fees to the fare and compare the total with the next fare up.
Does my bag fit on United Airlines?
Smallest way it travels on United Airlines
Carry-on
| Personal item | too big |
| Carry-on | fits |
| Checked bag | fits |
Limits read on United Airlines’s page (archived copy); measure with wheels and handles.
Sizes, fees and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we check
Basic fare by basic fare
The names differ from one airline to the next, and so do the rules. The table sums up what each airline's own bag page says about its lowest fare on domestic flights.
| Airline | Lowest fare | Carry-on included | Bag cost difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| American | Basic Economy | yes | checked bags $5 more from May 18, 2026 |
| Delta | Main Basic | yes | no basic surcharge on the fee page read |
| United | Basic Economy | personal item only on most routes | carry-on checked for $50 lobby, $75 gate |
| Southwest | Basic | yes | same bag fees as Choice |
| Alaska | Saver | yes | same bag fees as Main |
| Hawaiian | Saver | yes | same bag fees as Main |
| JetBlue | Main Base | yes | same bag fees |
Doing the sum before you book
A basic fare is cheaper only if the fare gap is larger than the extra it causes. On United, a traveler who needs an overhead-bin bag will pay for a checked bag instead, at $45 online for the first bag on the page we read. On American, a traveler who checks one bag pays $50 online on Basic Economy against $45 on Main Cabin. The calculator at the top of the page does the sum for one traveler and one direction; double it for a round trip.
The United personal item, measured
Because the United Basic Economy traveler often has nothing else, the 17 × 10 × 9 in (43 × 25 × 23 cm) limit decides the trip. The tool below tests one bag against United's three allowances at once: personal item, carry-on and checked bag. A bag that only passes as a carry-on will cost a fee on that fare.
Does my bag fit on United Airlines?
Smallest way it travels on United Airlines
Carry-on
| Personal item | too big |
| Carry-on | fits |
| Checked bag | fits |
Limits read on United Airlines’s page (archived copy); measure with wheels and handles.
Who is exempt on United
United's carry-on page lists the travelers who keep the overhead bin on a Basic Economy ticket: MileagePlus Premier members and the companions on their booking, primary holders of a qualifying United co-branded credit card, and Star Alliance Gold members. Routes are an exemption too, since Basic Economy to South America, across the Atlantic and across the Pacific includes the carry-on. Everyone else on a domestic Basic Economy ticket should plan for the personal item only. Status and card benefits also cover checked bags on several airlines, as the free checked bags page details.
A worked example on American
Take a round trip where Basic Economy is $40 cheaper each way than Main Cabin, for one traveler with one checked bag paid online. Basic Economy pays $50 per direction for the bag against $45 on Main Cabin, so the gap shrinks by $5 each way and basic still saves $35 per direction. With two checked bags the difference doubles. The calculator above runs the same sum for your own fare gap.
Other basic fare restrictions worth knowing
Bags are only one line in the conditions. When the bins are full, a bag that is included in the fare can still end up in the hold, and the carry-on pages of American and Delta say that on small regional jets a larger bag is checked at the aircraft door free of charge. Seat choice, changes and refunds are restricted in different ways by each airline; those rules are outside this site, so read the fare conditions shown at booking. The bag rules quoted here are those of domestic flights; international basic fares can include more.