Yes, American takes a soft-sided garment bag up to 51 in (130 cm) in total, and Southwest counts a garment bag as a carry-on within its usual size.
Garment bag rules by airline
American: A soft-sided garment bag can be up to 51 in (130 cm) in total, length + width + height.
Southwest: Southwest names a garment bag as one kind of carry-on bag, within its 24 x 16 x 10 in carry-on size.
JetBlue: JetBlue’s planes have no closets for hanging garment bags.
The other airlines here give no garment bag rule on their carry-on pages, so a garment bag there has to be within the carry-on size like any other bag: see the carry-on size chart.
A rolling garment bag against the limits
Travelpro’s Maxlite 5 Rolling Carry-On Garment Bag measures 16 x 22 x 8.5 in with its wheels and handles, 46.5 inches in total. That’s within American’s 51 inch garment bag total, and within the carry-on limit of Southwest, Frontier, Allegiant and Sun Country. It’s too wide for the 22 x 14 x 9 in limit of American, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Breeze and Avelo.
Folding it to fit
Fold a soft garment bag in half or in thirds and measure it folded and packed, with its hanger hook inside. The thickness grows with every suit, so measure it full.
Common questions
Can I hang a garment bag on the plane?
Not on JetBlue, whose planes have no closets for hanging garment bags. The other airlines here don't mention closet space on their carry-on pages, so plan to fold it into the overhead bin.
Is a garment bag a personal item?
Not on Southwest, which names a garment bag as a kind of carry-on bag. A folded garment bag would have to be within the personal item size to go under the seat.
Airline limits come from each airline’s own baggage pages, read in October 2026. The garment bag’s size comes from Travelpro’s own product page. Checked against published data from Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines and Avelo Airlines (plus 8 more).
See all 18 sources
American Airlines, Carry-on bags (aa.com)
Delta Air Lines, Carry-On Baggage (delta.com)
United Airlines, Carry-on bags (united.com)
Southwest Airlines, Carryon and Personal Item Policy (support.southwest.com)
Travelpro, Maxlite 5 Rolling Carry-On Garment Bag (travelpro.com)
JetBlue, Carry-On Bags: garment bags and weight (jetblue.com)
General guidance from airline, TSA and FAA rules, checked on the date shown. Rules change, and the airline and security officers decide on the day: check your airline before you fly.