Southwest personal item size: what fits under the seat?
Southwest Airlines publishes no personal item dimensions. The only rule is that it fits under the seat in front of you. Here is what that means in practice, and where your bag stands against it.
Your bag's measurements
The order doesn't matter — we test every orientation. Measure the widest points, including wheels, handles and packed pockets.
Southwest Airlines — official cabin limits
| Allowance | Max dimensions (inches — the airline's own figure) Second line: our conversion | Max weight |
|---|---|---|
| Free personal item | No dimensions published | Not stated |
| Carry-on | 24 × 16 × 10 in ≈ 60.9 × 40.6 × 25.4 cm | Not stated |
How to read these numbers — Southwest Airlines publishes these limits in inches — the unit its airport sizers are built to. The centimetre figures are our own conversion, always rounded down. 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
Here's the truth most size charts won't tell you: Southwest publishes no personal item dimensions. The official rule is one line — it must fit under the seat in front of you — with examples like a purse, briefcase, laptop case, backpack or pillow. The exact numbers floating around the web are third-party estimates, not Southwest policy. The personal item is free on every fare, alongside the 24 × 16 × 10 in carry-on, and Southwest publishes no weight limit for either.
Soft bag vs hard case
When the rule is 'fits under the seat', softness is the whole game: under-seat space varies by aircraft and row, and a frameless bag conforms to whatever space is actually there. A rigid case either fits or it doesn't — a soft one usually does.
Boarding tips
- No published dimensions exist — ignore the exact numbers on third-party charts and pack to 'fits under the seat'.
- Neck pillows don't count toward your allowance; a pet carrier counts as your carry-on or your personal item.
- Southwest publishes no weight limit; the only published test is whether the bag fits under the seat in front of you.
- The personal item is free on every fare, Basic included — on United's Basic Economy it's the only bag you get.