Once Again, Southwest Quietly Changed The Size of Allowable Bag Size

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Don’t you just love when airlines tweak what their passengers are and aren’t allowed to bring, and don’t tell anyone? Alaska Airlines did it when they shrunk the allowable size of carry-on bag you could bring with you onto the plane. Allegiant also surprised everyone a while back when they actually increased the size of the bags you could have.

Since at least the summer of 2023, Southwest Airlines had THE smallest dimensions for the size of the personal bag you could bring on their planes. But at least it was better than what they had previously, which was giving no dimensions at all. It was just a vague “something that will fit under your seat,” with some examples like “purse” or “backpack.” (because there’s absolutely no range in how big purses and backpacks can be, right? #rolleyes

Unfortunately, Southwest has decided that offering measurements of how big your carry-on bag could be was too easy. So they’re now back to being vague. From Southwest.com:

I want to know about the carryon & personal items policy

You may bring one carryon bag and one personal item without charge (subject to the limitations below). The bag should be stowed in the overhead compartment, and your small personal item should be stowed under your seat.

Sizing up your carryon and personal item:

One carryon bag

• Goes in overhead bin
• Size limits: 24” (L) + 16” (W) + 10” (H). Wheels, handles, and attachments to your carryon will apply toward these dimensions.
• Examples: roller bag, small suitcase

One personal item

• Goes under your seat
• Examples: purse (including crossbody bags), briefcase, laptop computer case, backpack, pillow (neck pillows do not count toward the carryon limit), blanket, small camera

If you’re traveling with a pet, the pet carrier is counted as either your personal item or carryon.

So as long as it goes under your seat, you’re apparently good to go. But only heaven knows how big that space actually is (and heads up – not all under-the-seat space is the same, even in the same row. There’s a huge difference between window, middle and aisle seat under-the-seat space on Southwest).

So yeah, if you’re traveling on Southwest and have a personal bag, good luck with that.

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