Allegiant does not provide you with a complimentary carry-on bag. Instead, travellers are only permitted to carry one personal item. Regular size carry-on bags are more expensive.
Is the Allegiant personal item, however, large enough for your trip? Maybe if you can locate a bag with the right shape!
So we scoured the internet for the finest Allegiant under-seat bags that were near to the permissible size.
You’ll find our Amazing Bagometer at the bottom of the post, which calculates how many days’ worth of clothes you can fit into the complimentary Allegiant bag. So you may use that information to determine if you need to purchase the full-size carry-on allowance.
Allegiant’s Personal Item Dimensions
Here’s a snapshot from the Allegiant website to remind you:
How Much Can An Allegiant Personal Item Hold?
A 16 x 15 x 7 inch bag has a theoretical maximum capacity of 1680 cubic inches or 27.5 litres. That’s really good considering a full-size carry-on bag only contains roughly 40 litres.
However, if you can locate a bag that is a perfect rectangular with those proportions, you will only receive 27.5 litres of capacity.
Don’t get too worked up… Consider the rectangle shape:
16 x 15 inches is nearly a square, and 7 inches is hardly much depth.
Suitcases, duffel bags, and backpacks aren’t generally as flat and square. As a result, it is difficult to locate any bags that completely utilise the Allegiant personal item allotment.
All of the bags we discovered were a compromise. We tried our hardest to find large-capacity bags, but it was difficult.
We’ll provide you the size measures and capacity in litres for each bag on this page.
If you can pack light, you might be able to avoid paying for carry-on or checked bags on your next Allegiant travel!
Luggage Dimensions: 7 x 15 x 16 Inches
I initially looked under seat baggage to see if any rolling bags met the requirements.
Due to the 7-inch limit, most rolling under-seat luggage are too big for Allegiant. The depth of these bags is normally 8 or 9 inches. They are too inflexible to be compressed to fit the sizer.
Allegiant allows for a maximum of 7 inches of room under the seat.
This Olympia was the nearest one I could locate. It measures 16 x 15 x 7.75 inches, which is 0.75 inch too large.
I know several Allegiant travellers tried it and got away with it. So… are you feeling fortunate?
In general, rolling suitcases are not suitable for use as a free Allegiant bag. Because they are frequently excessively large, rolling baggage will draw attention.
If you want to carry a rolling luggage that is little too large, I recommend taking it up by the handles as you pass by Allegiant gate agents. It will appear smaller!
If you are detected and do not come sobbing to me, you will be fined $50.
The Factor of Squeezability
It’s not by chance that the majority of rolling under-seat bags do not meet Allegiant’s requirements. Allegiant has rigged the game’s rules. They are particular about personal item size since this is how they generate money.
The main disadvantage of these semi-rigid luggage is that they cannot be squished to fit.
If the available bags do not fit, additional passengers will be forced to pay the $15 – $30 cost to bring a carry-on. When paid for both legs of the journey, this can significantly increase the cost of your ticket. A carry-on is less expensive if purchased in advance; if purchased at the airport, it can cost up to $50.
But, with a backpack this large, do you really need wheels? Couldn’t you simply carry it?
When travelling Allegiant with only a personal item, a soft, squashable bag is a preferable option.
However, if you pack it too tightly, it will not be squeezable. Don’t worry, I’ve got a clever strategy.
Your Unknown Weapon
Most individuals get around this by packing clothing in firmly when they wish to take a lot of clothes but just have a tiny bag.
The issue with this is that it may indicate that your bag is bulging, and bulging bags might cause issues at the sizer.
You won’t be able to compress your bag to fit if it’s half an inch too big.
When travelling with a stringent limit like Allegiant’s, compression packing cubes are your hidden weapon.
Stuff the packing cubes rather than your personal item bag.
The packing cubes will take the pressure, allowing you to fit more garments in, but your personal item bag will not. So, when you get to the Allegiant sizer, you’ll be able to compress your personal item bag to make it fit.
Just be careful not to overpack the compression packing cubes!
Messenger Bags 7 x 15 x 16 Inch
I envision messenger bags when I think of bags that are practically square on one side. So it was the next style of bag I looked at.
Timbuk2 Large Classic
The Timbuk2 classic in big size is 15 x 13.8 x 7.87 inches. If you don’t pack it too tightly, it should fit inside the Allegiant sizer.
I don’t think over-the-shoulder messenger backpacks of the correct size will be disputed very frequently. And it will fit perfectly beneath your seat.
According to Timbuk2, their classic large can hold 28 gallons. While the bottom is 15 inches broad, the top is closer to 20 inches wide. To fit it in the sizer, you’ll need to be able to squeeze it.
Large Leather Satchel by Newhey
The huge satchel measures 15.1 x 12.2 x 4.3 inches and has a capacity of 10 litres. It may be adequate for a few of nights away, but it will not contain much for longer travels.
Commute 2.0 Messenger Bag by Timbuk2.
This messenger bag is available in three sizes. The big version is 15.9 x 14.2 x 4.72 inches and has a capacity of 23 litres.
Check out Steve’s video to see the difference between the medium and big versions.
Travel Tote by Timbuk2
The virtually square front of the Timbuk2 Travel Tote drew my attention. Unfortunately, at 17.7 x 16.1 x 4.3 inches, it is little too big.
I believe that packaging your things into compression packing cubes and then lightly packing the cubes into the bag will allow it to fit under the restriction.
Backpacks measuring 7 x 15 x 16 inches
Most backpacks with a height of 16 inches are school bags for children. They typically have an 11-inch width to provide the standard rectangular backpack footprint.
As long as it is under the size limit, a backpack counts as a personal item on Allegiant.
Convertible Timbuk2 Scheme
The Scheme Convertible may function as both a messenger bag and a backpack. It measures 16.1 x 12.2 x 5.91 inches and holds 25 gallons.
Synapse 19 by Tom Bihn
The Tom Bihn Synapse 19 has a capacity of 19 litres and dimensions 16 x 11.4 x 7.9 inches.
It’s my go-to bag for underseat travel, and it’ll work for Allegiant if you don’t load it too tightly.
Boarding Blue Under Seat Duffel Bag 7 x 15 x 16 Inch
Boarding Blue focuses on personal item bags to assist travellers in avoiding carry-on luggage costs.
This is the bag they create for Allegiant. It measures 16 x 12 x 6 inches and contains over 19 gallons. It’s a shame it’s not a little bit bigger. An additional 3 inches in height and 1 inch in depth would provide 8 litres of packing capacity.
Travel Duffel Narwey
The Narway is primarily intended for use by Spirit Airlines. Its dimensions are 17 x 14 x 7 inches, making it one inch too broad for Allegiant. If you pack it correctly, it will store 25 litres.
You should be able to use it on your flight if you don’t stuff it too tightly. It’s a budget product, so it won’t last forever, but if you want to save money by eliminating carry-on or checked luggage costs, I believe Allegiant will allow it.
Packing Your Personal Effects
Here is our Amazing Bagometer gadget, as promised. Adjust the measurements to match the size of bag you’re thinking of buying, and it’ll tell you how much space you’ll have and how many days’ worth of clothing you’ll be able to fit.
The tool anticipates you’ll bring a laptop and shoes and reserves some space for them.
The Decision
Finding a bag that fits Allegiant’s personal item size requirements is quite difficult.
You must select whether to choose a bag that is safely within the limit but tiny, or a bag that may be slightly over the limit but squashable.
Packing cubes will assist because they will do the squashing.