Delta carry-on size: will your bag fit?

Delta carry-on size limits

Every Delta passenger can bring one carry-on bag and one personal item free of charge. The carry-on can measure up to 22 × 14 × 9 inches (56 × 35 × 23 cm), and Delta adds a second rule that few airlines have: length, width and height added together can’t be more than 45 inches (114 cm). A bag of exactly 22 × 14 × 9 inches adds up to 45, so it passes both.

The measurements include wheels and handles. Small musical instruments that fit in the overhead bin or under a seat are the exception. Delta has size check displays at its ticket counters and gates if you want to test your bag before boarding.

If your bag doesn’t fit, or a very full flight runs out of overhead space, a gate agent or flight attendant can check it at the gate. Flight attendants can’t routinely lift bags into the bins for you, Delta says, so pack a carry-on you can lift yourself.

Delta personal item size

Delta gives no measurements for the personal item. It must fit under the seat in front of you, and Delta lists what it has in mind: a purse, briefcase, small backpack, belt bag, fanny pack, camera bag, diaper bag or laptop bag, or anything of similar or smaller size.

The space under the seat varies from plane to plane. The personal-item limits other airlines publish run from 17 × 10 × 9 inches (United) to 18 × 14 × 8 inches (American and Frontier); the checker above shows how your bag compares. Keep your laptop with you: Delta says computers can’t go in checked bags unless security tells you otherwise.

What doesn’t count toward the allowance

These come on board free, on top of your carry-on and personal item:

• A jacket or umbrella
• Food or drinks bought after the security checkpoint
• A bag or box of duty-free shopping
• Strollers, wheelchairs, child safety seats and assistive devices such as crutches

Different carry-on rules apply when you travel with an infant on your lap or a pet in the cabin.

Delta Main Basic and your carry-on

Basic Economy is now called Delta Main Basic. It costs less because you give up seat choice, priority boarding, upgrades, Preferred Seats, same-day changes and miles, not your bags: Delta allows every passenger one carry-on and one personal item free. Because Main Basic boards without priority, the bins may be full by the time you board. If so, your carry-on is checked at the gate.

Small planes: Delta Connection

On Delta Connection flights with 50 seats or fewer, only personal items go in the cabin. Larger bags get a pink Gate Claim (Planeside) tag at the gate, travel in the hold free of charge, and come back to you when you get off the plane.

Weight limits and partner flights

Delta lists no weight limit for carry-ons, only sizes. If a SkyTeam or codeshare partner runs part of your trip, its rules may be different, Delta warns, so check that airline before you pack. To compare your bag with every airline we follow, use the bag fit checker, and save your airline and dates in My trips so the checker highlights it.