Bag sizes
Under-seat bag: the free small bag on UK flights
Measure the backpack or handbag you plan to take as your only free bag: the checker lists the airlines whose under-seat size it meets.
Will my bag fit? Your bag against 7 airlines
Fits as a personal item (under the seat)
5 of 6 airlines
- RyanairFits (40 × 30 × 20 cm)
- easyJetFits (45 × 36 × 20 cm)
- Jet2Fits (40 × 30 × 20 cm)
- British Airways5.0 cm too big (40 × 30 × 15 cm)
- Wizz AirFits (40 × 30 × 20 cm)
- TUI Airways (tui.co.uk)Fits (40 × 30 × 20 cm)
- Virgin Atlantic (archived figures)No published limit
Every UK and European airline on this site lets you bring one small bag that fits under the seat in front, free on every fare. Four of them publish the same size, 40 × 30 × 20 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in): Ryanair, Jet2, Wizz Air and TUI. easyJet is the most generous at 45 × 36 × 20 cm (17.7 × 14.2 × 7.9 in), with a weight of up to 15 kg (33.1 lb). British Airways is the shallowest, 40 × 30 × 15 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in) for its hand bag, because its passengers also get a full cabin bag. Wizz Air is the only one of the four 40 by 30 by 20 airlines that prints a weight, 10 kg (22 lb). For travelers on the cheapest Ryanair, easyJet or Wizz Air fare this bag is the whole allowance, and the sizer at the gate is where a fee can appear. A backpack of 40 by 30 by 15 cm passes on all six; one of 40 by 30 by 20 cm passes everywhere except British Airways, where it simply becomes the cabin bag.
Does my bag fit on Ryanair?
Smallest way it travels on Ryanair
Carry-on
| Personal item | too big |
| Carry-on | fits |
| Checked bag | fits |
Limits read on Ryanair’s page; measure with wheels and handles.
Sizes, fees and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we check
The six free small bags compared
Virgin Atlantic is missing from the table because the archived copy of its page we could read does not give a separate under-seat size. All the others were read on the airline's baggage page; Jet2 and British Airways on archived copies, with the dates on their pages.
| Airline | Small under-seat bag | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 40 × 30 × 20 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in) | none stated |
| easyJet | 45 × 36 × 20 cm (17.7 × 14.2 × 7.9 in) | 15 kg (33.1 lb) |
| Jet2 | 40 × 30 × 20 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in) | none stated |
| British Airways | 40 × 30 × 15 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in) | none stated |
| Wizz Air | 40 × 30 × 20 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in) | 10 kg (22 lb) |
| TUI Airways (tui.co.uk) | 40 × 30 × 20 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 7.9 in) | none stated |
Packing for a fare with only the small bag
Forty by thirty by twenty centimetres is a box of 24 litres. It holds a weekend of clothes, a wash bag and a small laptop, and not much more. Wear the heaviest shoes and the coat. Keep liquids where they can be reached, in case your departure airport still applies the 100 ml rule and asks for a clear bag: the UK liquid rules differ from one airport to the next. Leave the outside pockets flat, because the sizer measures the bulge.
Checking one bag against one airline
The tool below tests a bag against the three Ryanair allowances at once, the free small bag, the paid cabin bag and the check-in bag, and gives the smallest one it qualifies as. Each airline page on this site has the same tool for that airline.
Does my bag fit on Ryanair?
Smallest way it travels on Ryanair
Carry-on
| Personal item | too big |
| Carry-on | fits |
| Checked bag | fits |
Limits read on Ryanair’s page; measure with wheels and handles.
Why British Airways is smaller, and why it does not matter
At 40 × 30 × 15 cm (15.7 × 11.8 × 5.9 in), the British Airways hand bag is five centimetres shallower than the others. The reason is that it is never the only bag: every British Airways fare, Economy Basic included, also gives a cabin bag of 56 × 45 × 25 cm (22 × 17.7 × 9.8 in). A backpack that is too deep to be the hand bag simply travels as the cabin bag, and a handbag or laptop case goes under the seat. On the airlines that only include the small bag, the same depth would cost money; on British Airways it costs nothing.
Soft bags, sizers and the gate
The sizer at the gate is a metal frame of the published size. A soft backpack that is a little over on paper often slides in once squeezed; a hard case cannot. The risk is the extra pocket filled at the last minute with a water bottle or a jumper. Pack the night before, put the bag in a box or against a tape measure at the published size, and take out what does not fit.
When the small bag is not enough
Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air sell a larger cabin bag with priority boarding, and a hold bag in several weights. The cheapest moment to add either is when you book; after booking the price rises, and at the airport it is highest. The hand luggage size page lists the paid cabin bags, and the hold luggage page the checked weights.