I’ve heard that airlines are cracking down on the size of carry-on bags. What do I need to know?

Lately there has been an increase in the number of publicized incidents where travelers have been forced to check carry-on bags – mostly roll-aboards – that they have carried on for years. Our domestic airlines fall into two categories with respect to carry-on sizes:

• United, American, Delta, and US Airways – maximum of 22″ long, 14″ wide, and 9″ deep
• Southwest, JetBlue, Frontier, Virgin Atlantic – maximum of 24″ long, 16″ wide, and 10″ deep

The most commonly reported issue has been with the 14″ maximum width for the legacy carriers. Many roll-aboards are 15″ wide. Previously, when the airlines paid more attention to the total dimension limit of 45″ (L+W+H), the 15″ width wasn’t enforced as a separate requirement. Now the carriers are increasingly focused on the individual dimension limits instead of the overall total.