Airline spec · verified 2026-07-02

American Airlines carry-on & personal item size limits

Every number below was checked against American Airlines's official pages on 2026-07-02, with links to the source.

Check if your bag fits American Airlines →

Sizer enforcement: medium editorial view, not airline data
Gate sizers in use; enforcement routine but not revenue-driven

What is worth knowing about American Airlines

American's cabin allowance is the US default, and its cheapest fare is unusually kind about it: Basic Economy still includes one free personal item and one free carry-on, the same as any other ticket. What it takes away is boarding position — Group 9, last on, when the bins are already full — so the realistic risk here is being asked to gate-check a bag that fits perfectly well, not being measured. In the hold, 62 linear inches and 50 lb is standard, 70 lb in premium cabins, with a hard refusal point at 115 inches or 100 lb.

Fares & policy

Two limits American Airlines does not set

The sizes above are the ones American Airlines publishes. These are not, and they do not change when you switch carriers: liquids in the cabin — at a US checkpoint every liquid, aerosol, gel, cream and paste must be 3.4 oz (100 ml) or less and fit one quart-sized bag (TSA — Liquids, Aerosols and Gels Rule); and power banks and spare lithium batteries, which must be carried in the cabin only, never in a checked bag, with an ordinary rechargeable cell capped at 100 watt-hours (FAA PackSafe — Lithium Batteries). The FAA states that airlines may set stricter watt-hour and quantity limits than its own, so American Airlines can be tighter than this and never looser.

Item by item, the answers are on our can you bring it on a plane pages.