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With some airlines offering free cabin bags, and others fining travellers on the spot for misunderstanding the rules on hand luggage, packing for a holiday can be daunting. Here’s how to navigate new airline cabin bag allowances for 2026.
Airlines have become much stricter on hand and cabin bag allowance in recent years — our most recent airline survey found that many passengers are forced to pay significant charges, even when their cabin bag was only one or two centimetres too big. One Which? member told us they were charged £70 when the soft lid of their suitcase was only half a centimetre too large for the airline’s measuring box.
Airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air no longer include cabin bags in the cost of their standard tickets. Instead, you’ll only get a small bag that must fit under the seat in front of you.
If you plan to take a cabin bag, then you might find it's cheaper to fly with British Airways or Jet2 which both still include a cabin bag that can go in the overhead locker in the ticket price.
Read our price comparisons below to make sure you're clear on how much hand luggage you can take on your next flight.
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| Free cabin bag allowance (cm) | Weight limit if applies (kg) | Volume (litres) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| British Airways baggage allowance | 56 x 45 x 25 plus handbag/laptop bag | 23 | 63 |
| easyJet baggage allowance | 45 x 36 x 20 (underseat bag only) | 15 | 32.4 |
| Jet2 baggage allowance | 56 x 45 x 25 plus handbag/laptop bag | 10 | 63 |
| Ryanair baggage allowance | 40 x 30 x 20 (underseat bag only) | 10 | 20 |
| Wizz Air baggage allowance | 40 x 30 x 20 (underseat bag only) | 10 | 24 |
Along with Wizz Air, Ryanair’s baggage allowance is the least generous.
Its Basic fare only entitles you to one, small underseat bag of 40 x 30 x 20cm. The Regular fare, which entitles you to its ‘Priority & 2 Cabin Bags’, includes an additional 10kg case, measuring a maximum of 55 x 40 x 20cm, to be stowed in the overhead locker. As the name suggests, priority boarding is included, along with standard seat selection. ‘Priority & 2 Cabin bags’ can cost anywhere from £12-£36 if selected when booking, or £20-£60 if you add it at a later date.
We recommend you always buy Ryanair’s Basic fare and manually add the extras you need. Don't go for more expensive bundled fares, particularly if you don’t need the option to select seats. When we looked up flights in March for a return trip between London and Alicante in Faro, a Regular bundled fare cost £275.64, whereas it was £20 cheaper to opt for a Basic fare and add Priority & 2 Cabin bags. We even managed to add standard seat selection, and still saved £4 compared to the Regular bundle.
When we compared 10 flights in November 2023 to a range of locations, the Regular ticket was never cheaper, even if we wanted all the extras that a regular fare offers. On three occasions, the Regular bundle was more expensive.
Packing for your next trip? Make sure you're up to date on the latest airport liquid rules.
To help you pick the right bag, we've included some models from companies that scored well in our survey on the best cabin luggage brands.
If you choose an easyJet Standard ticket you’ll need to pay extra for anything beyond a small, underseat bag (measuring 45 x 36 x 20 cm including any handles and wheels, weighing a maximum of 15kg).
According to the easyJet website, adding a large cabin bag (56 x 45 x 25 cm) costs 'from £5.99' — but when we looked up a return flight from Manchester to Lisbon in June, a large cabin bag was charged at £26.49 outbound, and £23.49 for the return. And for a return flight to Morocco, a large cabin bag added £63.48 to the cost of the fare.
EasyJet also offers a Standard Plus fare, which includes a large cabin bag, speedy boarding and a seat near the front of the plane. But if you forego the seat selection and speedy boarding, it’s sometimes possible to get a better deal by choosing a Standard fare, and adding cabin bags manually. For example, when we checked in March for a return flight from London to Faro in July, we saved £39.48 by choosing a basic fare and manually adding a cabin bag. Do compare prices to check what’s cheaper — you may need to do this on two different browsers or devices.
Be careful when booking the Essentials fare, which offers a standard seat and 23kg hold bag — this fare does not include a cabin bag, and you’ll be expected to pay more if you need one.
To help you pick the right bag, we've included some models from companies that scored well in our survey on the best cabin luggage brands.
British Airways has the most generous included cabin baggage allowance.
It includes a cabin bag measuring up to 56 x 45 x 25cm, weighing up to 23kg, and a second, small bag, measuring up to 40 x 30 x 15cm and weighing up to 23kg.
British Airways fares will often appear more expensive upfront than flying with Ryanair or Wizz Air, but this isn’t always the case when cabin baggage costs are considered. When we've carried out price comparisons, we've found plenty of examples where adding cabin baggage actually bumps the cost of budget flights with Ryanair higher than British Airways and Jet2 fares.
To help you pick the right bag, we've included some models from companies that scored well in our survey on the best cabin luggage brands.
Which? Recommended Provider Jet2 isn’t too far behind British Airways with its baggage policy. Even on the Economy Basic fare, you’re entitled to both a small personal piece of hand luggage (40 x 30 x 15cm) and a cabin bag up to 56 x 45 x 25cm (including wheels and handles), weighing up to 10kg.
Jet2 also warns that from time to time it may need to put cabin baggage in the hold. If you’d prefer to keep your bag in the cabin, you’ll need to pay £6.50 extra per leg of the journey for ‘Guaranteed cabin bags’.
To help you pick the right bag, we've included some models from companies that scored well in our survey on the best cabin luggage brands.
Jet2 came top of the table in our best short haul airlines survey – read more
The only short-haul airline as stingy in this list as Wizz Air was Ryanair.
If you book the cheapest Wizz Air fare, you’ll only be entitled to bring a small underseat bag on board, measuring 40 x 30 x 20 cm and weighing up to 10kg. Passengers who buy Wizz Priority can also bring a cabin bag, measuring 55 x 40 x 23 cm. Those measurements don’t include handles and wheels, but it says these must not add more than 5cm to the size of the bag. It must also weigh no more than 10kg.
Wizz says Wizz Priority costs from £0 up to €60 (£50) online, or €65 (£55) if you add it at the airport. When we tried booking a return flight from London to Split, Croatia in June, the price for Wizz Priority was £34 each way. It wasn't possible to book a cabin bag on a standard fare, outside of a Wizz Priority bundled fare.
Wizz currently offers a Wizz Smart bundle, offering the same benefits as Wizz Priority, along with seat selection. Unless you need seat selection, it’s often cheaper to continue on the Basic fare, and add Wizz Priority when prompted on the next page. We saved £19.50 on the cost of a return flight from London to Marrakesh in June with this approach.
To help you pick the right bag, we've included some models from companies that scored well in our survey on the best cabin luggage brands.
Budget airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air may well be the cheapest option if you’re just travelling with a bag that fits under your seat this summer. But most people still want to take a cabin bag, and that significantly increases the cost of your ticket. Our checks found it can be cheaper to fly with Jet2 or British Airways.
For example, when we checked in March we found return flights from London to Malaga in July with British Airways, including a cabin bag, for £146.28. A similar flight with Wizz Air including cabin bags came to £222.98. With Ryanair, the total was £243.59.
In March we also checked a flight from London to Athens in July with cabin bags included, and found Ryanair was £69 more expensive than Which? Recommended Provider Jet2.
Looking for a case that’s lightweight and durable? These are the best cabin bag brands
Don’t waste money on gimmicks claiming to help you pack smarter. When we put packing techniques to the test, we found that simply folding your clothes is most effective. Our results suggest you can forget the hype around vacuum packing and compression cubes. Even rolling our clothes didn’t give us an advantage.
You should also fill every inch – for example, stuffing your footwear with socks. See more tips on how to pack a suitcase in the most space-efficient way.
In a survey of over 1,395 members, our readers told us Eastpak, Samsonite, Tripp and Antler were four of the best-rated suitcase brands.
Not all bags will fit Wizz Air and EasyJet's free bag allowances, please check sizes yourself before buying.