International Airline Baggage Rules

There is no such thing as the international baggage allowance. There is your airline's allowance, for your fare, on that leg, and it is checked at every check-in rather than only the first. Most excess charges are not the result of overpacking; they are the result of packing to the wrong number.

What You Need to Know

Four numbers govern your luggage, and they are set independently of each other:

• How many bags you may check, and how many you may carry on.
• How much each may weigh, usually as a per-bag limit rather than a total.
• How large each may be, measured as linear dimensions for checked bags and against a sizer for cabin bags.
• What it costs if you exceed any of the above.

Every one of those is set by the operating carrier for the fare you bought, on that particular flight. A basic economy fare and a flexible one on the same aircraft can have entirely different allowances.

Why it changes mid-trip

On a journey with several carriers, each leg applies its own rules. A long-haul ticket including two checked bags does not oblige the regional airline flying your second leg to accept two. Where the legs are on one ticket there are conventions about which allowance applies, and where they are on separate tickets there are none at all: the second airline simply applies its own.

What the airline does not decide

Whether an item may fly at all is a safety question answered by aviation regulators, not by the airline’s commercial policy. Lithium batteries are the main case: the Federal Aviation Administration requires power banks and spare batteries to travel in the cabin and prohibits lithium-powered devices above 160 watt hours from passenger aircraft entirely. No amount of paying for extra baggage changes that.

What to Do Before Your Trip

• Write down the allowance for every leg, including internal flights, in the airline’s own units.
• Pack to the smallest number on the list, not the largest.
• Weigh the bag at home, packed, with a luggage scale.
• Measure the cabin bag against the strictest sizer on the itinerary.
• Pay for extra bags in advance if you need them; the airport rate is materially higher.
• Check what your fare includes rather than what the airline generally offers.
• Remember the return, when the bag is heavier than it was.

Important Considerations

Weight limits are per bag, not per person

Two bags at 20 kilograms each is usually acceptable where the limit is 23 per bag; one bag at 40 is not, even though the total is lower. Redistributing between bags at the desk is common and slow, and it is avoidable by weighing at home.

Cabin bags are weighed too

Many airlines outside the United States apply a cabin bag weight limit and enforce it at the gate, which is where the sizer usually is. A cabin bag that fits and is too heavy is still refused, and gate-checking it means the batteries have to come out first.

Sports and oversized equipment

Golf clubs, skis, bicycles, musical instruments and medical equipment each have their own rules, frequently their own fee, and usually a requirement to notify the airline in advance. Some cannot be accepted without notice. This is worth resolving at booking rather than at check-in.

Codeshares

The allowance generally follows the airline actually operating the flight rather than the one whose code is on the ticket. If your itinerary says "operated by", check that carrier’s rules rather than the one you booked with.

Tips for Group Travelers

• Publish one number for the group, drawn from the strictest leg, with the units and the leg named.
• Check the internal-flight allowance first, because it is usually the binding one and the least visible.
• Pay for any extra bags centrally and in advance rather than leaving twenty travelers to pay airport rates.
• Ask about sports or medical equipment at registration, since some of it needs advance notice.
• Warn about the return leg, where the bags are heavier and the group has less patience.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming one allowance covers the journey. It follows each carrier and fare.
• Packing to the long-haul limit and meeting the regional one later.
• Reading the airline’s general policy instead of your fare’s terms.
• Paying for excess at the airport when it could have been bought in advance.
• Ignoring the cabin bag weight limit because U.S. carriers often do not weigh them.
• Bringing equipment without notifying the airline, and finding it cannot be accepted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the standard international baggage allowance?

There is not one. It is set by the operating carrier for your fare on each leg, and it varies widely. The number you need is the smallest one on your own itinerary, which is usually a regional or internal flight rather than the long-haul sector, and it is on your booking rather than on a general page.

Does my allowance change between flights?

It can, and on a mixed itinerary it frequently does. Each leg applies the operating carrier’s rules, and on separate tickets there is no relationship between them at all. Check every leg, including internal flights, and pack to the strictest.

Is the weight limit per bag or per person?

Usually per bag. Two bags at 20 kilograms each will normally be accepted where the limit is 23 per bag, while one bag at 40 will not, even though the total weight is lower. This is why redistributing between bags at the desk works, and why weighing at home is easier.

Will my carry-on be weighed?

Outside the United States, frequently yes, and usually at the gate where the sizer is. A cabin bag within the size limit and over the weight limit is still refused. If it is gate-checked, take out documents, medication and any batteries first, since batteries are not permitted in the hold.

How do I avoid excess baggage fees?

Weigh the bag at home against the strictest leg, buy any extra allowance in advance rather than at the airport, wear the heaviest items, and leave room for the return journey. Most excess charges come from packing to the wrong number rather than from packing too much.

Related Travel Tips

• Packing and luggage, the section this guide belongs to.
• Carry-On vs. Checked Luggage. Which bag, and what it costs.
• Items That Should Not Go in Checked Luggage. What no allowance permits.
• What to Do About Lost Luggage, for when the bag was accepted and did not arrive.

Plan Your Trip With LABUSA Travel

The binding baggage limit on an itinerary is usually buried in a regional carrier’s conditions and discovered at a check-in desk. Finding it in advance, and telling travelers one number, is an unglamorous part of planning a trip properly.

Talk with a LABUSA Travel advisor about a trip you are considering, or read about our group travel service if you are moving a party and its luggage.

Verify Before You Travel

Baggage allowances, weights, sizes and fees are set by each airline for each fare and each leg, and they change. Confirm them on your own booking with the operating carrier for every flight, including internal ones. What may be carried on an aircraft at all is set by aviation regulators: see the FAA’s PackSafe guidance. This page deliberately quotes no allowance of its own, because any figure printed here would be wrong for most travelers.