Can I Bring a Carry-on and a Backpack on a Flight?

A carry-on is a bag or suitcase small enough to take onboard. A garment bag usually does not count in that slot. The allowance is set by the airline. The common US box is 22″ x 14″ x 9″ and 40 pounds, and those figures often include wheels and handles. Most airlines also cap checked bags at 62 linear inches total, so the size rules for both cabin and hold are worth checking before you buy.

A suitcase only counts as a carry-on if it meets the dimensions your airline publishes. Some carriers measure at the gate. Check the spec against your airline before you fly.

Backpacks range from nylon and polyester to canvas. For a flight, stay with a smaller bag that will go under the seat.

Pockets help keep items together, but reaching anything mid-flight is the annoying part. That is where clamshell backpacks help, since they unzip flat and show the whole main compartment at once.

Keep the backpack light enough to lift into place, and small enough to slide under the seat. If it does not fit there, it is no longer a personal item. It is a second carry-on, and most airlines will not give you that.

Most airlines allow one carry-on and one personal item. A backpack or a laptop bag is the usual personal item. The carry-on goes in the overhead bin. The personal item goes under the seat. Most airlines do not publish a tight inch limit for that under-seat bag, but it still has to fit.

If the backpack is too big to go under the seat or in the overhead bin, it will not count as a personal item. One way around that is carry-on luggage that has its own laptop compartment, which keeps the machine in the suitcase and leaves your personal item allowance free.

So yes, you can bring both, as long as the carry-on meets the airline’s published size and the backpack fits under the seat. Using packing cubes helps you use the space across both bags.

Rules still vary by airline and by fare. Check your carrier before you travel. If you’re flying with children, confirm whether a stroller is allowed in the cabin before you get to the airport.

If you are buying for this two-bag setup, you need one bag built to the overhead limit and one built to the under-seat limit.

A hardside spinner sized to the standard carry-on envelope, which is the bag that goes overhead.

A backpack cut to the personal item box, so it slides under the seat in front of you instead of competing for overhead space.

Are there size limits for backpacks on planes?

If the backpack is the personal item, it has to fit under the seat. If it is riding as the carry-on, it has to meet the airline’s carry-on box, commonly 22″ x 14″ x 9″ and 40 pounds.

Is a backpack considered a personal item?

Yes. On most flights a backpack counts as the personal item if it fits under the seat.

Does a laptop bag count as a personal item?

Yes. A laptop bag usually counts as the personal item, same slot as a backpack or a purse.

Can I bring both a carry-on and a backpack?

Yes. The carry-on goes in the overhead bin and the backpack goes under the seat, unless your fare strips the carry-on.

Is it possible to bring more than two items onboard a flight?

Most airlines cap you at one carry-on and one personal item. Extra items only if the airline says so, or if a gate agent lets a small third thing slide when the cabin is empty.

You can bring a carry-on and a backpack on most flights. The carry-on has to meet the airline’s size box. The backpack has to fit under the seat.

Check your airline’s own page before you fly. If you are still deciding whether to bring a cabin bag at all, we have compared carrying on against checking a bag on size limits, fees and risk.