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Hold luggage vs hand luggage: the difference, the sizes and what goes where
Hold luggage goes under the plane, hand luggage comes on board. The sizes, weights and rules for each, airline by airline.
Hold luggage is the bag you hand over at check-in and collect from the belt at the other end. Hand luggage is the bag you keep with you on the plane. The hold bag travels in the cargo compartment under the cabin; the hand bag goes in the overhead locker or under the seat in front of you. Everything else follows from that: hold bags can be bigger and heavier, hand bags are limited to what fits in the locker, and the two are charged for in different ways.
The difference in one table
| Hold luggage | Hand luggage | |
|---|---|---|
| Other names | Checked baggage, check-in bag, hold bag | Cabin bag, carry-on, under-seat bag, personal item |
| Where it travels | In the hold, under the cabin | With you, in the locker or under the seat |
| Typical weight limit | 15 kg to 23 kg, up to 32 kg at most | 7 kg to 23 kg depending on the airline, and many do not weigh it |
| Typical size | A 26 to 32 inch suitcase | 55 x 40 x 20 cm or 56 x 45 x 25 cm for a cabin bag; 40 x 30 x 20 cm or 45 x 36 x 20 cm under the seat |
| Liquids | Any size | 100 ml containers at most airports |
| Cost | Often an extra charge on low cost airlines | A small bag is free; a larger one may cost extra |
| When you get it | At the baggage belt after landing | You never let go of it |
Hold luggage: bigger, heavier, out of sight
A hold bag is weighed at the check-in desk or bag drop. Most UK airlines sell it in weight bands. Ryanair sells 10 kg and 20 kg bags, easyJet 15 kg or 23 kg with 3 kg steps above that, Jet2 allows 22 kg a bag, included on Jet2holidays packages and paid on flight-only bookings, TUI gives 20 kg on most package holidays and British Airways includes 23 kg a bag on most fares. UK airlines stop at 32 kg for a single bag, and TUI at 25 kg, because the people loading the plane have to lift it.
Size limits on hold bags are generous. British Airways allows 90 x 75 x 43 cm, easyJet asks that length, width and height add up to under 275 cm, and Ryanair quotes 80 x 120 x 120 cm. Every suitcase we sell, up to the 32 inch sizes, is inside those limits. Some long haul airlines add their three sides together and cap the total at 158 cm, which a 32 inch case breaks, so check before you fly long haul with a very large case.
Because you do not see the bag again until the belt, it needs to be able to look after itself: a shell or fabric that takes knocks, a zip that cannot burst, wheels that survive a conveyor. That is what our large suitcases and extra large suitcases are built for.
Hand luggage: what fits in the locker
Hand luggage has two sizes on most airlines. The small bag goes under the seat in front of you and is free with every fare: 40 x 30 x 20 cm on Ryanair, Jet2, TUI and Wizz Air, and 45 x 36 x 20 cm on easyJet. The larger cabin bag goes in the overhead locker: 55 x 40 x 20 cm on Ryanair with Priority and on TUI, 56 x 45 x 25 cm on British Airways, Jet2 and easyJet. On Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air the larger bag costs extra or comes with a higher fare; on Jet2, TUI and British Airways it is included.
Weight matters less than size here. Jet2 and TUI set 10 kg, Ryanair 10 kg for the Priority bag, easyJet 15 kg and British Airways 23 kg, but what gets a bag refused at the gate is nearly always the sizer, not the scales. Our airline cabin bag size guide lists every allowance and which of our cases fit each one.
Which should you take?
For a weekend or a short city break, hand luggage alone is cheaper and quicker: no bag drop queue, no wait at the belt, nothing to lose. For a week in the sun, a family trip or anything involving full size toiletries, a hold bag earns its fee. Many people do both: one hold case between two people and a cabin bag each.
If you are deciding what to buy, the useful sizes are a 20 inch cabin case for the locker, a 26 inch for a week with a 20 kg allowance and a 28 inch for two weeks or a 23 kg allowance. A nesting luggage set gives you all three and stores as one case.
Questions people ask
Is hold luggage the same as checked luggage?
Yes. Hold luggage, checked luggage, checked baggage, a check-in bag and a hold bag all mean the same thing: a bag that is checked in and carried in the aircraft hold. Hold luggage is the British term; checked baggage is the American one.
Is hand luggage the same as a cabin bag?
Yes, though some airlines use cabin bag only for the larger bag that goes in the overhead locker, and call the small free bag a personal item or under-seat bag. Hand luggage covers both.
Can hand luggage go in the hold?
Yes, and on busy flights airlines often ask for volunteers to put cabin bags in the hold free of charge at the gate. Take out anything with a lithium battery, your medicines and valuables first.
Does hold luggage have a liquid limit?
No. The 100 ml rule applies to hand luggage only. Full size shampoo, perfume and drinks go in the hold, inside a sealed bag in case they leak. Alcohol between 24% and 70% is limited to 5 litres a person, and anything over 70% is not allowed at all.
Which is safer for valuables?
Hand luggage. Airline liability for a lost hold bag is limited by international rules to about £1,500 per passenger, and cash, jewellery, passports, medicines and electronics should never go in the hold.