Checked Bag Size Limits: The 62-Inch Rule

Checked baggage is any bag you hand over at check-in or a bag-drop counter to travel in the aircraft's cargo hold rather than with you in the cabin. It's the category that sits below carry-on and personal item in most airlines' fare structure, since a checked bag isn't limited by overhead bin space, but it is limited by weight, size, and how many pieces your fare includes.

Most standard economy fares include at least one free checked bag on international full-service carriers, while most U.S. domestic airlines charge for the first and second checked bag separately from the base ticket price.

The 62-inch rule refers to a checked bag's linear dimensions, meaning you add its length, width, and height together (including the wheels and handles) rather than checking each dimension separately the way carry-on rules work. American Airlines, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, Hawaiian, Air Canada, Avelo, and Turkish Airlines all use 62 total inches (about 158 cm) as the standard checked bag size, paired with a 50 lb weight limit on most of these carriers.

That overlap across ten major carriers is exactly why 62 inches functions as an informal industry standard, even though no regulator requires it. It's simply the number enough airlines converged on that a suitcase built to 62 linear inches will clear the large majority of domestic and international full-service carriers without a second look.

Allegiant's standard checked bag allowance runs to 80 linear inches before oversize charges apply, notably larger than the 62-inch group. British Airways publishes its checked bag limit as a 90 x 75 x 43 cm box (about 35 x 30 x 17 in) rather than a combined linear figure, which works out to roughly 82 linear inches, the largest in this comparison.

Emirates is the tightest of the group, capping checked bags at 150 cm (about 59 in) combined, noticeably smaller than the 62-inch standard. Frontier uses the same 62 total inches as the majority, but its base checked bag weight limit is only 40 lb rather than 50, making it an outlier on weight even though its size limit matches the norm.

Size and weight are separate checks, and a bag can clear one while failing the other. American Airlines, Delta, United, Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, Hawaiian, Air Canada, Avelo, and Turkish Airlines all pair their 62-inch size rule with a 50 lb standard weight limit. British Airways' standard allowance is 23 kg (about 51 lb). Frontier's is lower, 40 lb, even though its size limit matches the 62-inch majority.

Nearly every airline in this list also publishes an absolute ceiling above which a bag won't be accepted at any price. United, American, Alaska, and Hawaiian all cap out at 100 lb and 115 total inches. Air Canada tops out at 70 lb and 115 in before requiring cargo shipping instead of standard checked baggage. Turkish Airlines caps a single piece at 32 kg (70 lb) under any circumstance, splitting heavier loads across two bags rather than allowing one oversized piece.

Going over the base size or weight limit doesn't get your bag refused, it gets you a surcharge, and the surcharges are frequently steeper than the base checked bag fee itself. American Airlines charges $30 for a bag 62 to 65 inches, jumping to $200 for anything from 65 up to 115 inches. Delta and Alaska both charge $200 for a bag between 63 and 80 inches. On the weight side, American charges $30 for 50 to 53 lb, $100 for 53 to 70 lb, and $200 for 70 to 100 lb, while Delta and Alaska charge $100 for 51 to 70 lb and $200 for 71 up to 99 or 100 lb.

Note that the size of the oversize band itself varies by carrier too. American's $200 oversize tier applies from 65 up to 115 inches, Delta's $200 tier applies from 63 up to 80 inches (with bags larger than 80 in refused outright), and Alaska's $200 tier stretches all the way from 63 up to 115 inches, a single flat fee across a much wider range than Delta allows before it stops accepting the bag. The dollar amount being identical across carriers doesn't mean the rule behind it is identical, so check the specific cutoff for your airline, not just the headline fee.

The pattern across nearly every carrier is the same: a bag that's only slightly over the limit gets charged the same flat fee as one that's dramatically over, so there's no partial credit for being an inch or a pound over the line. If your bag is close to 62 inches or 50 lb, it's worth confirming the exact total before you leave for the airport rather than finding out at the check-in counter.

No. The same logic that applies to carry-on size applies here: TSA's own guidance states that bag size 'vary by airline,' directing travelers to their airline rather than to any TSA rule. TSA screens what's inside a checked bag, including rules around batteries and certain restricted items, but it does not publish a size or weight limit for the bag itself. The 62-inch figure common across so many airlines is an industry convention, not a federal or aviation-safety regulation.

That's worth knowing before you buy luggage marketed as 'TSA-approved size' for checked baggage. TSA doesn't approve bag sizes; the airline you're flying does, and that's the number to check against.

Measure length, width, and height with the wheels, side handles, and any external pockets fully extended, since nearly every airline's stated policy includes those parts in the total. A bag whose case body alone measures 60 inches can easily hit 63 or 64 once you add protruding wheels and a handle, which is enough to trigger an oversize fee even though the 'suitcase' itself looked compliant on the shelf.

If you're deciding between two similarly sized bags for checked luggage, run the exact measured numbers, not the marketed size, through the fit checker against your specific airline before you buy, especially if your itinerary includes an airline outside the 62-inch majority like Allegiant, British Airways, or Emirates.