Allegiant Air Baggage Rules
Allegiant publishes the most specific measurement sentence of any carrier we track. It counts wheels, pockets, handles - and decorations.
We have not tested this gear. Every figure here is compiled from published manufacturer specifications and published airline policies, and the arithmetic is public so you can check it. This page contains affiliate links — see the affiliate disclosure.
Allegiant publishes 22 × 16 × 10 in for the carry-on and 18 × 14 × 8 in for the personal item — and states that the measurement includes wheels, pockets, handles and decorations. Only the personal item is free; the overhead bag is a paid extra.
Figures from Allegiant’s own published baggage page, checked 3 September 2026. Fees vary by route, fare and when you buy.
| # | Product | Published box | Fits | Score | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Osprey Daylite Plus 20L BackpackA personal item that is also the daypack for the whole trip | 19 × 11 × 9.5 in | 0 carriers | 6.8 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 2 | Amazon Basics Hardside Spinner (21 in)One or two trips a year on Southwest, Frontier or Allegiant | 21.6 × 14.9 × 10 in | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 3.4 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 3 | Rockland Melbourne Hardside Spinner (20 in)Flying carriers that actually measure, and packing light on purpose | 20 × 13 × 10 in | 4 of 11WN F9 G4 SY | 3.1 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 4 | Narwey Foldable Personal Item Bag (18 × 14 × 8 in)Frontier and Allegiant flyers refusing to pay for an overhead bag | 18 × 14 × 8 in | 3 of 11AA F9 G4 | 2.1 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
| 5 | MATEIN Professional Travel Laptop BackpackWorking travelers whose personal item has to be the laptop bag | 18 × 14 × 8 in | 3 of 11AA F9 G4 | 2.1 | Check price on Amazon#ad How we earn |
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price on Amazon rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.
The published limits
| Allowance | Allegiant's published limit | Included? |
|---|---|---|
| Carry-on | 22 × 16 × 10 in | Paid extra |
| Personal item | 18 × 14 × 8 in | Included |
| Carry-on weight | None published | — |
The carry-on box is an unusual shape: standard height at 22 in, but 16 in wide and 10 in deep — two inches wider and an inch deeper than the US standard. It is generous in exactly the dimensions most bags are over on.
The most specific sentence in our table
Allegiant publishes that the measurement includes wheels, pockets, handles and decorations. Every carrier measures the outside of a bag; Allegiant is the only one we track that enumerates it to this level, and the last word is genuinely unusual.
What it rules out, in order of how often it catches people:
- Wheels and the housings they sit in. The single biggest gap between a manufacturer’s “case size” and its “overall size” — frequently 1.5 to 2 in of height.
- An external front pocket, packed. A laptop pocket that lies flat empty adds an inch of depth with a machine in it.
- The telescoping handle housing, which on many cases stands proud of the shell.
- Decorations — luggage tags, ribbons, stickers, a strap wrapped round the case. Small individually, and they are on the outside of a bag being measured at its widest point.
None of that is unique to Allegiant in practice; it is unique in being written down. Treat it as the clearest published statement of how every sizer works. How to measure your own bag the same way.
Only the personal item is free
Allegiant is one of five carriers in our table charging for the overhead bag on its cheapest fare. The published personal item — 18 × 14 × 8 in, or 2,016 cubic inches — is included, and it matches American’s box exactly while beating United’s by 32%.
Which produces the same strategy as every other paid-bin carrier: plan around the free box first. A bag built to exactly 18 × 14 × 8 in holds roughly 30 L, which is three to four days packed deliberately. Which carriers charge, compared.
A wide, deep box is not a license to buy one
Allegiant’s 16 in width and 10 in depth are generous, and a bag that uses them is over the limit at six other US carriers on two dimensions. The familiar asymmetry applies:
| If your bag is | On Allegiant | On the six US majors |
|---|---|---|
| 22 × 16 × 10 in | Fits exactly | Over by 2 in wide and 1 in deep |
| 22 × 14 × 9 in | Fits with 2 in of width to spare | Fits exactly |
Bags that fit Allegiant's free personal-item box
Checked against Allegiant's published 18 x 14 x 8 in under-seat limit on all three sides. This is the allowance included on every fare.
Nothing in our ledger publishes dimensions inside this box on all three sides. That is a finding rather than an omission — it means the limit is tighter than the bags this market actually sells.
What to buy for Allegiant
- Plan around the free personal item. On a short trip it is the whole answer and the bin fee is avoidable.
- Buy margin, not exactness. On the carrier most explicit about measuring every protrusion, a bag that fits “exactly” on paper is a bag measured with its wheels, pockets, handle and tag included.
- Take the ribbon off. Trivially, and it is written in the policy.
- Buy the bin at booking if you need it, never at the gate, where the fee is the top tier.
Every pick, with the working
Each entry below shows the published inputs, the four axis scores they produce, and what you give up. The order is the computed order, not a commercial one.
1 · A personal item that is also the daypack for the whole trip
Osprey Daylite Plus 20L Backpack
The only personal-item bag here with a published weight, a published price and a warranty that names no end date — $4 per covered year is the cheapest figure on this site.
- Published size
- 19 × 11 × 9.5 in
- Weight
- 1.31 lb
- Capacity
- 20 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.07 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- $4/yr
- Published list price
- $80
Warranty All Mighty Guarantee — any reason, any product, any era
Fits No US carrier in our table publishes a limit these dimensions satisfy. See the limits.
What it does well
- $4.00 per covered year is the lowest cost-per-year figure in this ledger
- 1.31 lb for 20 L, and it is the bag you then use every day at the destination
- 19 × 11 × 9.5 in fits the published personal-item box at American, Southwest, Frontier and Allegiant
What you give up
- Over United's published 17 × 10 × 9 in limit on all three dimensions
- 20 L is genuinely small — this is a day bag, not a week's clothes
- No lockable zippers
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value 8.3/10 — $80 ÷ 20 yr = $4/yr; $80 ÷ 20 L = $4/L
- Airline-fit breadth 0.0/10 — Fits the published personal-item limit at 0 of 8 US carriers
- Carry efficiency 9.4/10 — 1.31 lb ÷ 20 L = 0.066 lb/L
- Warranty & support 10.0/10 — no stated end date (6 of 6); repair published (+2); covers airline damage (+2)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Osprey published specifications and price, compiled 3 September 2026.
2 · One or two trips a year on Southwest, Frontier or Allegiant
Amazon Basics Hardside Spinner (21 in)
Skip this one. Skip it where the measurement is strict. Its published 21.6 x 14.9 x 10 in fits Allegiant's box, and Allegiant is the carrier most explicit that it measures every protrusion - so a case with a mounted lock, corner guards and a wheel housing is being measured at its true widest. Buy margin, not a bag that fits exactly.
A three-year warranty against a decade elsewhere is the whole story: this is the bag you buy when the trip is next week and the budget is fixed.
- Published size
- 21.6 × 14.9 × 10 in
- Weight
- 6.9 lb
- Capacity
- 39 L
- Weight per liter
- 0.18 lb/L
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty Amazon Basics three-year limited warranty for luggage
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- 21.6 in published height is under the 22 in standard
- 39 L published capacity at 6.9 lb, which is 0.18 lb per liter
- Built-in TSA lock on a bag at this tier
What you give up
- Three-year warranty is the shortest in this ledger by seven years
- 14.9 in width and 10 in depth both fail the standard box
- No repair route published — the remedy is replacement inside three years, then nothing
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency 4.9/10 — 6.9 lb ÷ 39 L = 0.177 lb/L
- Warranty & support 1.5/10 — 3 yr (1.5 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Amazon Basics published product specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. Sold only through Amazon, so its price is a live retail price rather than a manufacturer list price. We do not carry a number we have not verified live — check it on the day.
3 · Flying carriers that actually measure, and packing light on purpose
Rockland Melbourne Hardside Spinner (20 in)
The only bag in this ledger whose published dimensions clear every single US carrier's carry-on limit — because it is genuinely small.
- Published size
- 20 × 13 × 10 in
- Weight
- 7.5 lb
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty 5 year limited warranty (published terms vary by retailer)
Fits 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY. See the limits.
What it does well
- 20 × 13 × 10 in clears the published carry-on limit at all eleven US carriers here
- 43 linear inches, comfortably inside Delta's 45 linear inch cap
- Expandable, so the small footprint is a floor rather than a ceiling
What you give up
- Published warranty term differs between sources, which is its own warning
- 7.5 lb for a case this small is a poor weight-per-volume trade
- ABS shell at the cheapest end of the material ladder
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth 3.6/10 — Fits the published carry-on limit at 4 of 11 US carriers: WN, F9, G4, SY
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 2.5/10 — 5 yr (2.5 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Rockland published product specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. No manufacturer-published price was readable on 3 September 2026. The Value axis is not scored for this bag.
4 · Frontier and Allegiant flyers refusing to pay for an overhead bag
Narwey Foldable Personal Item Bag (18 × 14 × 8 in)
Built to exactly the 18 × 14 × 8 in personal-item box that American, Frontier and Allegiant publish, which is the entire point of it.
- Published size
- 18 × 14 × 8 in
- Weight
- Not published
- Capacity
- 30 L
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty No warranty term published
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: AA, F9, G4. See the limits.
What it does well
- 18 × 14 × 8 in matches the published personal-item limit at American, Frontier and Allegiant exactly
- 30 L in a bag that folds flat when it is not the bag you need
- Sleeve strap that drops over a suitcase handle
What you give up
- Too big for United's published 17 × 10 × 9 in personal-item box
- No published weight, warranty term or price
- A soft duffel packed to 30 L stops being 8 in deep
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth 3.8/10 — Fits the published personal-item limit at 3 of 8 US carriers: AA, F9, G4
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published weight, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 0.0/10 — no published term (0 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: Narwey published product specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. Sold through retail rather than a manufacturer store with a published list price. Check the live price before buying.
5 · Working travelers whose personal item has to be the laptop bag
MATEIN Professional Travel Laptop Backpack
The same 18 × 14 × 8 in box as the Narwey, worn on your back and built around a 17.3 in laptop instead of clothes.
- Published size
- 18 × 14 × 8 in
- Weight
- Not published
- Capacity
- Not published
- Weight per liter
- Not published
- Cost per covered year
- Not published
- Published list price
- Not published
Warranty Warranty against defects in materials and craftsmanship for as long as you own it — no term published
Fits 3 of 11 US carriers: AA, F9, G4. See the limits.
What it does well
- 18 × 14 × 8 in matches the published personal-item limit at American, Frontier and Allegiant
- Takes a 17.3 in laptop, which most personal-item bags will not
- Ownership-length defect warranty, published without a stated end date
What you give up
- Over United's published 17 × 10 × 9 in personal-item box on all three dimensions
- No published weight or capacity, so neither carry efficiency nor cost per liter can be computed
- Warranty covers defects, not the wear that actually kills a bag
The arithmetic behind the score
- Value not scored — No manufacturer-published price, so this axis is not scored.
- Airline-fit breadth 3.8/10 — Fits the published personal-item limit at 3 of 8 US carriers: AA, F9, G4
- Carry efficiency not scored — No published capacity, so weight per liter cannot be computed.
- Warranty & support 0.0/10 — no published term (0 of 6); no published repair route (+0); airline damage not covered (+0)
Weights and breakpoints are published on how we rank. Where an input is not published, that axis is dropped and the remaining weights are re-normalized.
Specs: MATEIN published product specifications, compiled 3 September 2026. No manufacturer-published list price readable on 3 September 2026.
No live price is currently verified, so every button here reads Check price on Amazon rather than a number we cannot stand behind. See how we handle prices.