Air Canada personal item size: what fits under the seat?
Enter your bag's measurements and see instantly whether it flies as Air Canada hand luggage — free, for a fee, or not at all — against the official limits.
Your bag's measurements
The order doesn't matter — we test every orientation. Measure the widest points, including wheels, handles and packed pockets.
Where Air Canada contradicts itself
Found on the airline's own pages, not our reading of them.
- Air Canada prints the personal item as 33 × 43 × 16 cm and 13 × 17 × 6 in side by side, but 43 cm is 16.9 in and 33 cm is 12.9 in, so its inch figures are rounded up and read slightly looser than its own centimetres. We publish the centimetres, which are the airline's own limit, and our own rounded-down inches.
Air Canada — official cabin limits
| Allowance | Max dimensions (cm — the airline's own figure) Second line: our conversion | Max weight |
|---|---|---|
| Free personal item | 43 × 33 × 16 cm≈ 16.9 × 12.9 × 6.2 in | Not stated |
| Carry-on | 55 × 40 × 23 cm≈ 21.6 × 15.7 × 9.0 in | Not stated |
How to read these numbers — Air Canada publishes these limits in centimetres. The inch figures are our own conversion, always rounded down, never up. Airlines that print both units often print two figures that don't agree with each other — sometimes looser, sometimes stricter. When they disagree we go by the airline's own unit and round the other one down. Packing to our number keeps you inside the real limit.
What to expect
Air Canada's personal item, the smaller of its two standard cabin articles, is 43 × 33 × 16 cm (16.9 × 12.9 × 6.2 in), measured with wheels and handles included. There is no weight limit, only the size and the rule that it fits in the cabin. On an Economy Basic fare bought on or after 3 January 2025, travelling within Canada or to and from the US, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, this is the only bag you may bring on board, which makes its exact size worth checking before you fly.
Soft bag vs hard case
When the personal item is your only cabin bag on a Basic fare, its footprint is your whole allowance. Air Canada gives no weight limit here, so the size is the entire test, and the 43 × 33 × 16 cm is measured with wheels and handles. A soft bag compresses into that space; a rigid case built to the exact dimensions has no margin at the sizer. Because there is no published weight cap, pack for what you can comfortably lift into the bin.
Boarding tips
- On a restricted Economy Basic fare this can be your only cabin bag, so treat it as the whole trip.
- There is no weight limit; only the 43 x 33 x 16 cm size and the ability to store it in the cabin.
- Wheels and handles are included in the size, and Air Canada checks it with sizers before security and at the gate.
- If your bag is over this size on a Basic fare, it must be checked, and bringing it to the gate costs CA/US $65 to $78.
- Travelling with a lap infant adds one extra standard item, such as a diaper bag.