US Airways

[11MikesGirl21]

I'm going to be flying with US Airways in December. I've never flown with them before and this "personal item" carry on policy always confuses me. I know with some airlines a backpack is considered a personal item and on others it's considered a carry on. I'm only allowed one carry on and one "personal item". Is a backpack considered a personal item?

[Haley53]

Every time I've flown, regardless of the airline, my school backpack has always been counted as a "personal item," and my suitcase has been my carry-on. I've always understood that a backpack is a carry-on in the event it's either one of those bulky, heavy bags with wheels or if it's like a hiker's backpack. So long as it'll fit under the seat in front of you - the measurement is something like 12" x 12" I think, or if that's inaccurate (can't remember where I heard it), then you'd be more or less fine with a school backpack that's not full to bursting with items - you'll be fine. A good way to test it out is to pack what you'd want/like to in your backpack and try putting it under the dash on the passenger's side of your car. If it fits comfortably with room around it, you'll be fine, if it fills the whole space or doesn't fit at all, you're probably looking at a carry-on and not a personal item.

[11MikesGirl21]

Every time I've flown, regardless of the airline, my school backpack has always been counted as a "personal item," and my suitcase has been my carry-on. I've always understood that a backpack is a carry-on in the event it's either one of those bulky, heavy bags with wheels or if it's like a hiker's backpack. So long as it'll fit under the seat in front of you - the measurement is something like 12" x 12" I think, or if that's inaccurate (can't remember where I heard it), then you'd be more or less fine with a school backpack that's not full to bursting with items - you'll be fine. A good way to test it out is to pack what you'd want/like to in your backpack and try putting it under the dash on the passenger's side of your car. If it fits comfortably with room around it, you'll be fine, if it fills the whole space or doesn't fit at all, you're probably looking at a carry-on and not a personal item.

Thank you! I've always used my school backpack and I usually fill it to full (usually with homework to do at the airport, but seeing as how this will be at the start of a new semester i won't have any of that) and it always fits under the seat of the plane. I should be just fine.

[Haley53]

Thank you! I've always used my school backpack and I usually fill it to full (usually with homework to do at the airport, but seeing as how this will be at the start of a new semester i won't have any of that) and it always fits under the seat of the plane. I should be just fine.

I was worried when I went to Ireland because I was flying Delta for the first time and I have heard some bad things about Delta and being a bitch about carry-ons and personal items... Lo and behold, they actually ran out of overhead room and were being quite stingy with what they were letting on (even with personal items); fortunately, I escaped it both times because my suitcase fit into neat little places in the overhead bins/was smaller than others, but regardless, I got on with my backpack fine. I imagine you will be also.

[kittyo9]

We had some trouble coming back from Greece with backpacks. If they're smaller backpacks or not packed fully, they will typically count as a personal item, but if they are packed full or very heavy, they will count as a carry-on. We had some people who had brought two backpacks and had both of them packed fairly full and they ran into some issues before boarding. The lady indicated that a bag that is not packed full-- something more along the lines of a laptop bag with a laptop and maybe a few other things in it-- would count as a personal item.

[11MikesGirl21]

We had some trouble coming back from Greece with backpacks. If they're smaller backpacks or not packed fully, they will typically count as a personal item, but if they are packed full or very heavy, they will count as a carry-on. We had some people who had brought two backpacks and had both of them packed fairly full and they ran into some issues before boarding. The lady indicated that a bag that is not packed full-- something more along the lines of a laptop bag with a laptop and maybe a few other things in it-- would count as a personal item.

Thank you. (And just by looking under your picture, I'm from your area. That's home for me. (I'll stop being creepy now, lol))