Last Updated on January 1, 2024 by Henry @ The Getaway Lounge
This post is reviewed on a regular basis to ensure a high level of accuracy.
Just how strict is WestJet with carry-on?
It’s a question we hear all the time in our travel community, and here’s the latest.
WestJet are quite strict and state that you are entitled to one free piece of carry-on luggage and one personal item. According to them, your carry-on bag must fit comfortably in the overhead bin, whilst your personal item must be small enough to fit under the seat in front of you.
For peace of mind, we recommend this best seller on Amazon which fits almost perfectly within WestJet’s limits.
WestJet have a main carry-on allowance as follows:
21 x 15 x 9 inches (53 x 38 x 23 cm)
These dimensions include any wheels and or handles.
Conveniently, WestJet also allow a smaller personal item on board to accompany your main bag.
This item must be within the following limits: 16 x 13 x 6 inches (41 x 33 x 15 cm)
Examples on their website include briefcase or purse, but in reality you could bring a little bit more than that on board.
And this could be an opportunity to pack a few more essentials if you were to use a small backpack for instance.
Besides, as long as your personal item is clearly small enough to fit underneath the seat in front of you, we wouldn’t worry too much about going slightly over the limits stated above.
Security screening allows one clear, re-sealable plastic bag with no more than 1 litre (one quart) in capacity for liquids, aerosols and gels.
These liquids must not exceed 100ml / 100g (3.4oz), and must fit within your carry-on baggage allowance.
For further information please head to their terms and conditions page, and look for the heading “WestJet’s carry-on baggage allowance”.
In addition to the above, the following are examples of items that are also permitted and do not count towards your overall allowance.
For more details on additional items there are further details on this page – under the “Additional items” tab.
Although there are no stated limits for carry-on weight, it must be light enough to allow you to place the bag in the overhead compartment without assistance.
If you are a person with a disability or special needs, assistance is available upon request.
From our experience, there’s a good chance they will performing spot checks to ensure passengers bags do fit into the sizer device.
Besides, the dimensions are there for good reason including safety measures, so we recommend being prepared.
If you’ve got a certain bag type which is oversize however, you may still be able to use it.
The only time we would say it’s potentially worth the risk is if your bag is soft-sided and only slightly oversized.
Besides, as long you can squeeze it into the sizing device and demonstrate it fits then you should be fine.
In contrast, if you’ve got a hard case you won’t be able to fit it into the sizer.
This will result in the maximum fee for putting your luggage in the hold last minute.
What’s more, you’ll have to wait around after landing to pick up your luggage!
If your bag is deemed oversize you will need to check it in the hold and pay a fee.
For more information regarding WestJet’s baggage fees which depend on your route and ticket type, please visit this page on their website.
There’s a good chance they will be enforcing their restrictions on the day you travel, put it that way.
Therefore, we recommend allowing peace of mind and investing in a compliant carry-on bag.
With that said, if you do happen to have a slightly oversized backpack for instance – you should be able to squeeze this into the sizer if needs be.
Just make sure you leave enough leeway in your bag so you can demonstrate it fits.
If after reading this post however, you think it might be wise to pay for checked bags then please check out this page on WestJet’s website which covers everything you need to know.
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