Airlines with Free Baggage Allowance

If the free baggage allowance isn't enough for your trip and you'd like to book more baggage, you have a few options:

• Add your baggage at the time of booking - if you make a booking with Alternative Airlines, you can add baggage at the time of booking on a number of airlines. For full information on how to do this and the list of airlines that its available with can be found on our how to add baggage page
• Add your baggage after booking online - if you decide you'd like to add baggage after you've made your booking, you'll be able to do this directly on the airline's website, subject to availability
• Add your baggage after booking at the airport - alternatively, you can add baggage to your booking at the airport. However, we only suggest this as a last resort, as baggage fees at the airport are significantly higher than online

Out of all the airlines, La Compagnie is the best for free baggage and give the most generous free baggage allowance. The airline offers 18kg/40lbs of free carry-on baggage and up to 64kg/141lbs of free checked baggage, no matter which fare you buy.

Here is the full list of airlines with the most generous free baggage allowance:

Aeromexico
10kg/22lbs of free carry-on baggage. 23kg/51lbs of free checked baggage on international flights. 25kg/55lbs of free checked baggage on domestic flights

Air India
10kg/22lbs of free carry-on baggage. 23kg/51lbs of free checked baggage on international flights. 25kg/55lbs of free checked baggage on domestic flights

Cathay Pacific/Cathay Dragon
7kg/16lbs of free carry-on baggage. 46kg/102lbs of free checked baggage on flights to/from the Americas. 30kg/66lbs of free checked baggage on all other flights.

La Compagnie
18kg/40lbs of free carry-on baggage. 64kg/141lbs of free checked baggage on all flights.

Oman Air
One free carry-on bag (no weight stated). 30kg/66lbs of free checked baggage on all flights.

Sri Lankan Airlines
7kg/16lbs of free carry-on baggage. 30–46kg/66-102lbs of free checked baggage, depending on the route flown

Thai Airways
7kg/16lbs of free carry-on baggage. 30–46kg/66-102lbs of free checked baggage, depending on the route flown

Most airlines do give free carry-on baggage. However, there are some exceptions where ultra-low-cost airlines will allow you to take a free small personal item but no free carry-on bag. Some examples of this are:

• Ryanair
• Wizz Air
• Spirit Airlines
• Allegiant Air
• Frontier Airlines
• Flair Airlines
• Swoop

There are different rules for what you can take in your checked baggage and what you can take in your carry-on baggage. Carry-on baggage rules tend to be a lot more strict, for example, you can't take liquids that are more than 100ml/3.4oz in your carry-on baggage. Check out our blog on what you can carry on a plane for more details.

Yes, free baggage allowance does usually differ for domestic and international flights. As a general rule, international flights usually give a bigger free checked baggage allowance. One reason for this is because international flights are usually operated by widebody aircraft, which have the capacity to carry more weight than smaller aircraft.

For international flights, airlines generally allow 1-2 pieces of checked baggage per passenger, each weighing no more than 23kg. Carry-on baggage may weigh up to 7-10kg (depending on the airline's baggage allowance).