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Departures / Low-cost cabin bags

The one bag that fits every budget airline

What your low-cost fare actually includes, airline by airline, and the cabin bag size that works on all of them.

By Satish, founder of Travelpin. Last checked 20 October 2026, on each airline's own baggage page.

The bag that fits all eight airlines

A cabin suitcase 54 centimetres high, 35 wide and 20 deep, shown from the front and the side54 cm35 cm20 cmfrontside

Wheels and handles included. Keep it under 7 kg.

A low-cost fare is a seat and very little else. That's fine, and often a great deal, as long as you know exactly what "very little else" means on the airline you've booked.

The trouble is that every airline means something slightly different, and the difference shows up at the gate, where an oversized bag can cost more than the flight.

So I went through the baggage pages of eight widely flown low-cost airlines across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, put their rules side by side, and worked out the one bag size that fits all of them.

If you only read one thing

  1. A cabin bag of 54 × 35 × 20 cm fits the full-size cabin bag limit on all eight airlines here. On Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet that bag is a paid extra; on the others it's included. Keep it under 7 kg and it fits every weight limit too.
  2. On Ryanair and Wizz Air, the free bag is small: 40 × 30 × 20 cm, under the seat. A wheeled cabin bag means paying for priority.
  3. easyJet's free bag is the most generous of the under-seat allowances: 45 × 36 × 20 cm, up to 15 kg. Jet2 includes a full 10 kg cabin bag on every fare.
  4. In Asia and the Middle East, a 7 kg main bag is the norm, with a small personal item on top. On AirAsia, the 7 kg covers both bags together.
  5. Add extras when you book, not at the gate. Adding a large cabin bag at the gate costs £60 on easyJet, and an oversized bag at the gate costs US$55 per item on flydubai.

Who gives you the most for free

Ranked only by what you can bring on board without paying: first whether a full-size overhead bag is included, then by total free weight. It says nothing about fares, punctuality or service.

Each airline's free bag, drawn to the same scale (height × width). Gold suitcases are full-size cabin bags; grey backpacks must fit under the seat. IndiGo sets a 115 cm total instead of fixed sides, so it isn't drawn.

A full-size cabin bag is included

  1. 1
    Jet2A 10 kg wheeled cabin bag, plus a small under-seat bag
  2. =2
    ScootA carry-on and a personal item, 10 kg in total
  3. =2
    IndiGoA 7 kg cabin bag, plus a separate laptop bag or handbag up to 3 kg
  4. 4
    flydubaiA 7 kg cabin bag, with a small personal item counted inside it
  5. 5
    AirAsiaA cabin bag and a personal item, 7 kg across both

Under-seat bag only

  1. 6
    easyJet45 × 36 × 20 cm, up to 15 kg
  2. 7
    Wizz Air40 × 30 × 20 cm, up to 10 kg
  3. 8
    Ryanair40 × 30 × 20 cm, no weight limit published

Airline by airline

Sizes are height × width × depth, including wheels and handles, from each airline's own baggage page unless noted.

Europe

Asia

Middle East

Your airline isn't here? Tell me on Instagram and I'll add it in the next update.

The one bag that fits them all

This is the part I couldn't find anywhere else, so I worked it out from the eight airlines' own limits.

For your main bag: 54 × 35 × 20 cm, under 7 kg. That fits the full-size cabin bag limit on every airline above. The limits that decide it are Scoot's 54 cm height, AirAsia's 36 cm width, the 20 cm depth on Ryanair Priority and flydubai, and the 115 cm total that Scoot and IndiGo both set. 54 + 35 + 20 is 109 cm.

For your under-seat bag: about 33 × 25 × 10 cm. That's the size that fits the personal-item limits on AirAsia and Scoot (40 × 30 × 10 cm) and flydubai (25 × 33 × 20 cm) at the same time, so it fits everywhere else too. Think slim laptop sleeve or flat tote. A typical 20 cm-deep backpack fits the free bag on Ryanair, Wizz Air and Jet2, but not the personal item on AirAsia or Scoot.

The weight to remember: 7 kg. AirAsia counts both bags together towards it. IndiGo and flydubai allow 7 kg for the main bag.

Measure at home, not at the gate. Wheels and handles count. On easyJet, adding a large cabin bag at the gate costs £60. On flydubai, a bag over the limit at the gate costs AED 200 or US$55 per item. If you need more, add it when you book.

Power banks

On every airline here, power banks and spare batteries go in your cabin bag, never in checked luggage. Jet2 spells it out, and it's the same rule everywhere.

On many Asian airlines, you can carry one but not use it. AirAsia and Scoot don't allow charging devices from a power bank on board, and ask you not to put it in the overhead bin. Every airline flying in India, IndiGo included, has the same ban under India's aviation regulator.

Elsewhere, check your airline's page, especially if your power bank is large. Charge your phone before you board and you won't need it.

A cheap ticket doesn't mean fewer rights

Passenger-rights rules don't care what you paid. If a low-cost flight is cancelled or badly delayed, you're owed the same as on a full-service airline flying the same route.

The full country-by-country version is in our guide to flying at Christmas.

Coming soon in Europe: in June 2026 the EU agreed that airlines must include a standard cabin bag and a personal item in the base fare, and seat young children next to a parent at no charge. The new rules are expected to apply 12 months after they're formally published, so likely from 2027. Until then, the rules above are what you get.

Two trips, worked out

Examples to show how the rules play out. Your airline's booking page is what counts.

A weekend away with one backpack

The bag: a 45 × 36 × 20 cm backpack, packed to 8 kg.

On easyJet: free. It's exactly the size of easyJet's under-seat allowance, and well under its 15 kg limit.

On Ryanair or Wizz Air: too big for the free bag, which is 40 × 30 × 20 cm. Either pack into something smaller or buy Priority when you book, not at the gate.

On Jet2: free, as your included 10 kg cabin bag, with room for a small under-seat bag as well.

The lesson: the same bag can be free on one airline and a fee on another. Check before you pack.

A short hop with a laptop

The bags: a wheeled cabin bag at 6 kg and a laptop bag at 2 kg.

On AirAsia: over the limit. AirAsia's 7 kg covers both bags together, so this is 8 kg. Move a kilo into a checked bag added online, or leave it at home.

On IndiGo: fine. The cabin bag is within 7 kg, and the laptop bag is within its separate 3 kg allowance.

On Scoot: fine. Economy allows 10 kg across both bags.

Before you go

The cheapest fares work best when nothing surprises you, at the gate or on the day.

Add your flight to Travelpin and it builds a packing list for where you're going, so you pack for the trip and not for every possibility. It tells you when to leave for the airport, and lets you know the moment your gate changes or your flight is delayed.

Download Travelpin on the App Store

Safe travels,

Satish

From departure to memory.

P.S. Airlines change their bag rules often, sometimes with little notice. Everything here was checked on each airline's own page in October 2026, and we'll re-check every six months. Your booking confirmation is always the final word.

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