Checked luggage sizing.

[Brefletcher]

The whole 2 bags fly free if off the chain.  BUT... I have gotten so many different answers form people stating that the wheels do not count and then that they do. Its 2021. Does anyone have info on this from this year??!!!

[gsking]

They normally won't check... especially if it's underweight. 

But when I was shopping for luggage,  only the 30" bags exceeded the limits.   Anything 28" and under (usually anything that comes in a set) will be fine.   The extra large ones seemed too big to risk.

I don't recall the wheels factoring into the math. 

[elijahbrantley]

It is not definitively stated, but I agree that unless your bag is overweight, I don't think anyone would ever check.

I have NEVER had a Southwest employee measure my bag at check in. Officially the policy states: "Southwest will accept the first two checked bags for free provided that the bags do not exceed 50 lbs and 62 inches (L+W+H)." I feel very confident that as long as your bag is not obviously way over that size or overweight that you will not have any issues.

You could always reach out to SW at the Contact Us link below to see if you could get more info.

[bwallet]

Overweight will definitely get caught. I see it all the time. There is a tolerance of a pound or so. They definitely work with people though. They give suggests, let you stand there and move stuff from bag to bag, etc. 

On American once, I had a bag that was 53lbs or so. I was Platinum, and I asked if they could make an exception. The agent said that no exceptions were allowed over 1lbs so I had to move some stuff to my carry on.

Be glad that they don't weight carry on bags. South African Airlines dinged me on having a carry on over like 20lbs or something once. They were weighing everything. A few rand left to the side while I was adjust things seems to have fixed the problem though. That was 2005 or 2006.

[Consultant]

Why would wheels count or not count for checked luggage?  If you carry on a marginal bag, avoid the first 5 rows where the overhead storage is smaller on 737s.  When putting your luggage in the overhead, always put the wheels out to maximize fit in the bin. 

[jksobonya]

I am fairly certain when a bag is measured, it is by the actual bag portion and not the wheels. Either way, as long as your bag is the recommended size and under the weight requirements, there will not be any issues. 

--Jessica

[DancingDavidE]

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@Brefletcher wrote:

The whole 2 bags fly free if off the chain.  BUT... I have gotten so many different answers form people stating that the wheels do not count and then that they do. Its 2021. Does anyone have info on this from this year??!!!

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Can you search the forum for this? I'm pretty sure I've posted a definitive citation previously that the wheels don't count or seen one posted, but don't have it handy right now.

Anyway - Southwest is in great shape for this with the 737 storage bins being generous any reasonable carryon will work. The difference is if you for some reason had to get it under the seat in front of you there are some tight spots at the front of the plane against the hull. But overhead - no problem.

[dfwskier]

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@DancingDavidE wrote:

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@Brefletcher wrote:

The whole 2 bags fly free if off the chain.  BUT... I have gotten so many different answers form people stating that the wheels do not count and then that they do. Its 2021. Does anyone have info on this from this year??!!!

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Can you search the forum for this? I'm pretty sure I've posted a definitive citation previously that the wheels don't count or seen one posted, but don't have it handy right now.

 Wheel do not count. Southwest's Contract of Carriage says so.

[alexhoi]

Hi @Brefletcher 

There are no set restrictions for checked luggage, so airlines define their own baggage policies.

A standard size that is seen consistently across many airlines is 62 inches (158 cm) linear. And, the weight will depend on the cabin, but quite often the maximum weight can be (with or without overweight charges) is 70 pounds (32 kg).

[dfwskier]

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@alexhoi wrote:

Hi @Brefletcher 

There are no set restrictions for checked luggage, so airlines define their own baggage policies.

A standard size that is seen consistently across many airlines is 62 inches (158 cm) linear. And, the weight will depend on the cabin, but quite often the maximum weight can be (with or without overweight charges) is 70 pounds (32 kg).

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overweight charges at Southwest start when you exceed 50 pounds