United’s personal item limit is 9 x 10 x 17 in (22 x 25 x 43 cm) and its carry-on limit 9 x 14 x 22 in (23 x 35 x 56 cm). On a Basic Economy ticket you get only the personal item on most routes.
Bag type
Your bag against United’s limits
As an Amazon Associate, What Size Bag earns from qualifying purchases.
Basic Economy or Economy
| Basic Economy | Economy | |
|---|---|---|
| Personal item | Yes | Yes |
| Carry-on bag | Only to South America, across the Atlantic or across the Pacific | Yes |
| Checked bags | Fee | Fee |
Premier members, those traveling with one, primary holders of a qualifying MileagePlus card and Star Alliance Gold members can bring a free carry-on on Basic Economy.
A carry-on you bring anyway on Basic Economy has to be checked, for a fee. Prepaying costs less than paying in the airport lobby, and the gate costs the most. Checked bag fees vary by route and by when you bought the ticket.
A small personal item
United’s under-seat limit is 10 inches on its middle side, where the other airlines that give a size allow 13 or 14. A bag of 17 x 13 x 8 inches, the JetBlue and Breeze limit, is 3 inches too wide for United, so measure yours. United names purses, backpacks and laptop bags as personal items.
A jacket or coat, an umbrella, a camera and food bought at the airport don’t count against your bags, and neither do a diaper bag and a breast pump, even when you travel without the child. A small purse on top of the personal item and carry-on isn’t allowed.
Gate checks and CommutAir
United can check a carry-on at the gate when the plane runs out of overhead space, when the bag is over the size limit, or when you’re over your allowance. On flights run by CommutAir, a United Express partner, you can take only one personal item on board. A bag checked at the gate on a United Express flight may come back on the jet bridge or at baggage claim. On most United flights it waits at baggage claim at your final stop.
Checked bags
United allows 62 in (158 cm) in total, which it also gives as 30 x 20 x 12 inches (76 x 52 x 30 cm), handles and wheels included. Economy and Premium Economy bags can weigh 50 lb (23 kg); Business and First bags 70 pounds (32 kg). United doesn’t accept bags over 115 in (292 cm) or 100 lb (45 kg), and a bag both oversized and overweight pays both charges.
Bag prices
For today’s bag fees, see United’s baggage page.