Which airline’s carry-on size limits apply when one airline sells ticket but flight is operated by another?

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Accepted answer

Tripadvisor briefly mentions carry on in their AIR TRAVEL - Baggage Rules for Multi-Airline Schedules - Which Allowance? article:

Your hand baggage (carry on) allowance is determined by each airline operating the flights, and when code shares are involved it's the operating carrier. If you are traveling on multiple airlines on the same itinerary your hand baggage must comply with the strictest of the rules set by the airlines concerned.

This makes sense. If the gate dragon decides to put your 115L backpack in the sizer to force you to gate check, they won't have the time to analyze the finer points of your booking. Also, some airlines actually have reasons for their carry on rules.

But common sense apparently doesn't apply for passengers whose ultimate ticketed origin or destination is a U.S. point (and Canada):

For passengers whose ultimate ticketed origin or destination is a U.S. point, U.S. and foreign carriers must apply the baggage allowances and fees that apply at the beginning of a passenger's itinerary throughout his or her entire itinerary. In the case of code-share flights that form part of an itinerary whose ultimate ticketed origin or destination is a U.S. point, U.S. and foreign carriers must apply the baggage allowances and fees of the marketing carrier throughout the itinerary to the extent that they differ from those of any operating carrier.

This is 14 CFR § 399.87 so it's binding, Canada has a copy of it. While there's a lot of confusion whether it applies to carry on or not, apparently it does! Here's the official FAQ on it:

  1. Does section 399.87 apply to carry-on baggage policies? Does section 399.87 apply to bags other than a passenger’s first and/or second checked bags?

Section 399.87 applies to all baggage allowances and fees, including carry-on baggage policies and policies related to checked items beyond the first and second checked bags.

Upvote:4

Which airline’s carry-on size limits apply

You must comply with the rules of the operating carrier. This is always the case with carry-on baggage dimensions and weight. This is due to physical differences in the aircraft. No ticket type can change the bin size ;). And safety due to seat pitch and anything else the airline determines.

Meaning, your carry-on must meet the smallest dimensions of any carrier on the itinerary. If not, the bag simply may not fit. There is no amount of bureaucratic word salad that can change basic geometry.

Note, realistically, those dimensions are effectively the same and it is highly unlikely any staff will notice unless that extra .5" UA allows prevents the AC bin from closing. If that happens, sorry, you can be Oscar Munoz, CEO of UA, and they'd still make you check the bag.

The only time baggage allowances can vary is in total allowances of checked baggage and then it depends on a number of factors such as program status and most significant carrier.

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