Baggage & Airline Rules

Delta Baggage Policy, Plus Checked Bags for Every Major Airline

Delta baggage policy allows one checked bag up to 50 lb and 62 linear inches for $45. Compare checked-bag size, weight and fees across 8 airlines.

Updated August 29, 2026 · 14 min read

The short answer

Delta baggage policy allows one checked bag up to 50 lb (23 kg) and 62 linear inches (157 cm) for $45 on domestic US routes. Alaska and Hawaiian match that fee. Southwest no longer includes two free bags on most fares. Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines allow up to 32 kg per piece in business class. Every figure here is checked against each airline’s own policy as of August 2026.

A checked bag that cost $35 two years ago can now cost $45, and the airline that used to hand out two free bags might only give you one. Baggage pricing has moved fast across the US majors since 2025, and a lot of comparison pages online have not kept up.

This one has. Delta, Alaska, Hawaiian, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Southwest and Turkish Airlines are compared here in inches, centimetres, pounds and kilograms, checked against each carrier’s own published policy in August 2026. Where an airline has stopped publishing a number, that gap is stated rather than guessed.

If you also need cabin-bag limits, carry-on size by airline covers that side separately.

Delta, Alaska, Hawaiian and Southwest all cap a checked bag at 62 linear inches.

What to check before you weigh your bag

Your fare class, since a Basic Economy fare can change what is included even when the checked-bag fee itself does not.
The route type: domestic, transborder or international, since most airlines price and size each differently.
Whether you hold elite status or a co-branded credit card, since both commonly waive the first checked bag.
A luggage scale rather than the airline’s rounding at the counter, since a bag at 50.5 lb is billed as overweight.
Your booking reference, so you check the operating carrier’s policy and not the one you booked through.

Delta baggage policy: size, weight and fees

The Delta baggage policy caps each checked bag at 62 linear inches (157 cm), measuring length plus width plus height. Main Cabin, Comfort+ and Basic Economy passengers get 50 lb (23 kg) per bag. Delta One and First Class passengers get 70 lb (32 kg).

On domestic US, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands routes, the first checked bag costs $45 each way and the second costs $55. On Basic Economy fares between the Americas and Europe or North Africa, the first bag typically runs $60 and the second $100, though this figure is route-dependent and worth confirming at booking.

A bag between 51 and 70 lb (23 to 32 kg) costs an extra $100. Between 71 and just under 100 lb (32 to 45 kg) it costs an extra $200. On most Americas-to-Europe and North Africa routes, Delta will not carry a bag heavier than 70 lb at all.

Note: an oversized bag, between 63 and 80 linear inches, adds $200 on domestic routes. International oversize charges range from $100 to $300 depending on the route.

Baggage dimensions for Delta and seven other airlines, compared

Weight aside, the size limit barely varies between the US carriers in this comparison. It varies far more once you leave the country, and Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines measure some fares by the bag rather than the pound.

US carriers

Airline	Size limit	Weight, standard	Weight, premium	1st bag fee	2nd bag fee
Delta	62 in / 157 cm	50 lb (23 kg)	70 lb (32 kg), Delta One/First	$45	$55
Alaska	62 in / 157 cm	50 lb (23 kg)	No separate tier published	$45	$55
Hawaiian	62 in / 157 cm	50 lb (22.5 kg)	No separate tier published	$45	$55
Southwest	62 in / 157 cm	50 lb (23 kg)	Not applicable, one cabin	$0 to $45, fare-dependent	$0 to $55, fare-dependent

Fees above are for a bag paid for in advance, all four rose in 2026, and Southwest’s are the ones that actually depend on which fare you booked.

All four also cap an absolute maximum, past which a bag is refused outright rather than surcharged: Delta and Southwest stop at 100 lb, Frontier and Allegiant lower still.

International carriers

Airline	Allowance system	Weight per piece	Max size per piece
British Airways	Piece, by cabin	23 kg (Economy), 32 kg (Business/First)	90 x 75 x 43 cm
Qatar Airways	Piece on Africa/Americas routes, weight elsewhere	32 kg (70 lb) per piece	158 cm / 62 in
Turkish Airlines	Piece on most international routes	23 kg (Economy), Business varies by fare	158 cm / 62 in

The piece concept caps each bag on its own; the weight concept pools one total by fare.

Is Southwest still bags fly free?

Mostly, no. Southwest’s decades-old promise of two free checked bags narrowed sharply after a policy change that took effect May 28, 2025. Today, only the Choice Extra fare and Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred elite members get both bags free.

Everyone booking Basic, Choice or Choice Preferred now pays. Bookings made before April 9, 2026 pay $35 for the first bag and $45 for the second. Bookings made on or after that date pay $45 and $55, the same figures Delta and Alaska charge. A third bag costs $150 regardless of when it was booked.

Southwest’s size and weight limits did not change: 62 linear inches and 50 lb standard, with an absolute ceiling of 80 linear inches and 100 lb. A bag between 51 and 70 lb costs an extra $100, and one between 71 and 100 lb costs an extra $200, on top of whatever the base checked-bag fee already is.

Southwest still includes two free bags on the Choice Extra fare and for A-List Preferred elites; every other fare now pays.

Alaska Airlines baggage allowance, now shared with Hawaiian

Alaska bought Hawaiian in 2024, and the two now publish baggage rules from one combined set of pages. That is why their checked-bag figures below match almost exactly.

The Alaska Airlines baggage allowance is 62 linear inches and 50 lb (23 kg) standard. Fees rose on April 10, 2026 to $45 for a first bag, $55 for a second, and $200 for a third or later bag.

A bag between 51 and 70 lb costs an extra $100, and one between 71 and 100 lb costs an extra $200. Alaska does not publish a separate weight tier for premium cabins the way Delta does.

Note: Alaska also charges for oversized bags, but the published bracket was inconsistent between its own reference pages at the time of writing, so no specific oversize figure is repeated here. Confirm it directly with Alaska before you fly with an oversized bag.

Alaska and Hawaiian publish checked-bag rules from one combined set of pages since their merger.

Hawaiian Airlines baggage policy on mainland routes

The Hawaiian Airlines baggage policy for a Standard Bag matches Alaska’s: 62 linear inches (157 cm) and up to 50 lb (22.5 kg). On mainland US routes, the first checked bag costs $45, aligned with Alaska’s April 2026 pricing, and the second costs $55.

Hawaiian’s own policy states that an overweight bag that is also oversized is charged both fees separately, not just the higher of the two. Interisland fares within Hawaii carry their own, lower fee structure with discounts for HawaiianMiles members, which is a different enough pricing model that it is not covered in this comparison.

British Airways baggage allowance and the piece concept

British Airways does not pool your baggage into one weight total. It counts pieces instead, and how many you get, and how much each may weigh, depends on your cabin.

Economy Basic includes no checked bag at all. Standard Economy includes one bag up to 23 kg. Premium Economy includes two bags up to 23 kg each. Business includes two bags up to 32 kg each, and First includes three. Every piece, in every cabin, is capped at 90 x 75 x 43 cm.

The ba airways baggage allowance fee for an extra or overweight bag varies by route and fare and is shown at the time of booking. No single flat figure covers every route, so none is repeated here.

Does Qatar Airways charge by piece or by weight?

Both, depending on where you are flying. The Qatar Airways baggage allowance uses the piece concept on routes between Qatar and Africa or the Americas.

Each checked piece may weigh up to 32 kg (70 lb) and measure up to 158 cm (62 in). A piece over that weight has to be split into two rather than accepted as one heavy bag.

On every other route, Qatar Airways uses the weight concept, pooling a total kilogram allowance that depends on your cabin and fare. That total is not published as a single figure on Qatar’s own site and is shown at booking and in Manage Booking instead, so it is not stated here as one number.

Turkish Airlines baggage policy for economy and business

Turkish Airlines runs the same two-system split as Qatar. On most international routes it uses the piece concept: Economy passengers get one bag up to 23 kg (50 lb), sized to the same 158 cm (62 in) limit as Qatar and British Airways.

Business Class carries a higher per-piece allowance, but Turkish Airlines does not display one consistent figure for it across every fare type, so no specific business-class weight is stated here.

Domestic Turkish routes and some regional flights use a pooled weight concept instead of a piece count, and that total was not clearly published either. Check your own booking’s baggage section for both figures before you pack.

What happened to Spirit Airlines baggage policy?

There is not one anymore. Spirit Airlines ceased all flight operations on May 2, 2026, and entered a court-supervised wind-down after its second Chapter 11 filing, the first having come in November 2024. NPR, CNN and CNBC all reported the shutdown the day it happened. Spirit’s own baggage page now redirects to a restructuring site rather than a live policy.

Frontier and Allegiant absorbed much of Spirit’s ultra-low-cost route network, and neither includes a free checked bag on any fare. Frontier’s standard checked bag runs up to 40 lb and 62 linear inches, priced through its online Bag Price Checker rather than one fixed number, with airport pricing higher than booking in advance.

A Frontier bag between 41 and 50 lb costs $75 per direction. Between 51 and just under 100 lb it costs $100 on bookings made before April 4, 2026, or $129 on or after. Frontier will not accept a bag over 110 linear inches at all.

Allegiant’s standard checked bag runs up to 50 lb (22 kg) and 80 linear inches (203 cm), with a hard ceiling of 99 lb. Like Frontier, its exact dollar fee depends on the route and how early you pay, cheaper at booking and more expensive at the airport.

No single figure is given here for Allegiant’s standard fee or its overweight surcharge, since neither is published as one fixed amount.

Spirit Airlines ceased all flight operations on May 2, 2026; Frontier and Allegiant absorbed much of its network.

What counts as overweight or oversized, and what does it cost?

Weight and size are checked and charged separately on every airline in this comparison. A bag can clear the scale and still fail the tape measure, or the other way round, and each failure carries its own fee.

Airline	Mid-range overweight	Top-range overweight	Oversize
Delta	51-70 lb: $100	71-99 lb: $200	63-80 in: $200
Southwest	51-70 lb: $100	71-100 lb: $200	63-80 in: $200
Alaska	51-70 lb: $100	71-100 lb: $200	Not published consistently
Frontier	41-50 lb: $75	51-99.99 lb: $129	Over 110 in: not accepted

The pattern across every airline that does publish clear brackets is the same: the top overweight fee is roughly double the mid-range one. It is cheaper to check a second bag than to push one bag past its weight tier.

The top overweight bracket runs roughly double the mid-range one across Delta, Southwest and Alaska.

Why every airline now publishes a baggage fee page

This is not just each airline being helpful. US Department of Transportation rules require carriers to disclose their checked-bag fees clearly, including at the point where a passenger is searching for and comparing fares, rather than only revealing them at checkout.

That disclosure requirement is why a dedicated baggage fee page exists on every airline’s site rather than being buried in a fare’s terms and conditions. It is also why a page like Southwest’s fee table lists exact dollar brackets by date rather than a vague description.

Your bag was flagged as overweight at the counter

Ask which limit it failed. Weight and size are checked separately, and a bag can pass one and fail the other.
Redistribute into a second bag if you are travelling with someone, since a second bag is usually cheaper than one overweight fee.
Move the heaviest single item into your carry-on or personal item, if it still fits that allowance.
Ask for the exact bracket, not just the word “overweight,” since most airlines charge one price up to a point and a steeper one above it.
Pay at the check-in counter rather than the gate. Every airline in this comparison prices a bag lowest before boarding and highest at the gate.
Contact the airline directly afterward if you believe your fare should have included the bag or waived the fee.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Delta baggage policy the same on international flights?

The 62-inch size limit stays the same worldwide. The fee and weight allowance do not: Basic Economy fares between the Americas and Europe or North Africa carry higher checked-bag fees than domestic routes, and premium cabins get a higher weight allowance everywhere.

Does Southwest still include two free checked bags?

Only on the Choice Extra fare and for Rapid Rewards A-List Preferred members. Every other fare now pays $45 for a first checked bag and $55 for a second, following the fee increase that took effect April 9, 2026.

What happened to Spirit Airlines baggage fees?

There are none to report. Spirit ceased all flight operations on May 2, 2026, and its baggage page now redirects to a bankruptcy restructuring site. Passengers rebooked onto Frontier or Allegiant pay that airline’s own checked-bag fee instead.

Do Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines use the same baggage system as US airlines?

No. Both use a piece concept on many international routes, allowing a set number of bags up to a fixed weight each, rather than one pooled weight total. Which system applies depends on the route, not on passenger choice.

Is Alaska Airlines baggage allowance now the same as Hawaiian's?

Yes, on the figures both airlines publish. Alaska and Hawaiian operate under one combined baggage policy since their merger, and both charge $45 for a first checked bag and $55 for a second on most routes.

What is the cheapest way to avoid a checked-bag fee?

Pay for the bag when you book rather than at the airport, since every airline in this comparison prices it lowest at that point. Elite status, some co-branded credit cards, and Southwest’s Choice Extra fare are the main ways to avoid the fee outright.

In short

Checked-bag rules moved in the same direction across nearly every airline covered here: fees rose, and the carriers that once gave bags away for free now reserve that for specific fares or elite status. Delta, Alaska and Hawaiian settled on the same $45 first-bag fee.

Southwest’s blanket free-bag policy narrowed to two fare types, and Spirit stopped flying altogether, its former passengers now paying Frontier’s or Allegiant’s fees instead. The size and weight limits moved far less than the price did.

Rules change without much notice. If something here no longer matches what you were told at the counter, tell us and we will correct it.