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Small personal item clarification

gthornton326
Explorer C

I have a small Wall Street Journal duffle bag.  The dimensions are 18" L x 10" W x 12" D.  Can this be considered a personal carry on item?

10 REPLIES 10

Re: Small personal item clarification

caskey
Explorer B

I've seen people bring much bigger things on board.  That's a bit big because it would have trouble fitting under the seat in front of you without some squishing.  If it doesn't fit under the seat and the bins are full, both your carry on and the personal item would end up being gate checked to your destination.

Re: Small personal item clarification

gthornton326
Explorer C

Why would my carry on (garment bag) have to be checked?  I would only think my personal bag (WSJ duffel) would have to be checked.

Re: Small personal item clarification

LindseyD
Retired Community Manager

Hi @gthornton326,

 

If all the bin space is full and your personal items won't fit under the seat in front of you, you would probably be asked to check them. But, it is very unlikely that will be the case. Our carryon rules allow for one carryon bag (duffel, carryon on suitcase, etc) and one personal item, which would typically be a purse, or a backpack, or a briefcase. 

 

Re: Small personal item clarification

gthornton326
Explorer C

Can I have my wardrobe bag as my carry on and put it in the overhead bin?  Could my personal item be my duffel bag that would go under the seat?

Re: Small personal item clarification

LindseyD
Retired Community Manager
Solution

Sure thing, as long as your duffel will definitely fit underneath the seat in front you. If it's a large duffel,  and you have a garment bag that won't fit beneath the seat, you might be asked to check one or the other. 

 

Re: Small personal item clarification

Sfhorty
Explorer C

Where is it posted on Southwests baggage policy that personal items Must be stored under the seat Vs in the overhead compartment ? 

I boarded the plane and the bins were not full yet so I placed both my carry on and personal item above. The flight attendant instructed me to remove the personal item immediately and place it under my seat. She said this is SWA's policy and always has been.  I could find nothing in writing detailing this policy ?

 

 

Re: Small personal item clarification

franktravel
Aviator B

This is all it says about that.

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Re: Small personal item clarification ANSWER FOUND! :)

infrequentflye1
Explorer C

After searching for weeks online and on Southwest.com, I finally found where on Southwest.com it lists the dimensions for a personal item. It is here:

https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/baggage/carryon-bags-pol.html

Your personal item

photo showing 18.5 x 8.5 x 13.5 inches personal bag
  • Personal-type items include purses, briefcases, cameras, food containers, or laptops (case included).
  • Your personal item must be stored under
    the seat in front of you, fitting within 
    18.5 x 8.5 x 13.5 inch dimensions.
  • A friendly reminder: If your personal item does not fit under your seat, you will be asked to place it in an overhead bin.

Re: Small personal item clarification ANSWER FOUND! :)

margareta51200
Explorer C

I find this backpack diagram very confusing. They show the width as going from the front left to front right side of the backpack, and they allow only 8.5" for that dimension, then they show what appears to the the thickness, from front to back, as "height" and set an 18.5" limit on that, but i've never seen a backpack that thick from front to back. For most backpacks, the longest part, or the actual height, is the top-to-bottom dimension. The next longest dimension is from side to side across the front, and the smallest dimension is from front to back, or the thickness. Does it matter which dimension is which as long as the bag fits within these overall measurements? I'm a first-time flyer, so I want to make sure my bag will make it. My backpack is 17" tall (from bottom to top), 13" across (from left to right across the front), and 8" thick (from front to back). So it fits wtihin the overall dimensions given (18.5 x 13.5 x 8.5), but not on the same sides as what the diagram shows. If I bring this backpack with me, will I be able to carry it on the plane?