Frontier Airlines Bag Sizes and Fees

Frontier publishes its bag measurements as three numbers in a row, and the sentence that follows those numbers is the one that decides your trip. A personal item is 18 by 14 by 8 inches and a carry-on is 24 by 16 by 10 inches, and both of those sets of figures are measured including handles, wheels, and straps. That means the tape measure goes around the parts of the bag you think of as extra, not just the fabric box.

A checked bag is judged differently again. It has a weight ceiling of 40 pounds, and it has a size ceiling of 62 linear inches, which the airline spells out as length plus width plus depth, including handles, wheels, and straps. Linear inches are a total, not a single side, so a long thin bag and a short fat bag can land on the same number. The figures below are the airline’s own, and they are the only figures on this page.

Every number here was read from Frontier’s own pages on a stated date, and fees and limits change. Check the airline’s current page before you fly, because a figure that was right when this was written can be wrong by the time you are standing at the counter with the bag already zipped.

What Frontier Airlines allows, and what it charges

What the personal item measurements actually cover

The personal item figure is 18 by 14 by 8 inches, and it is a three-dimensional limit rather than a suggestion about the longest side. A bag that is 18 inches long but 15 inches wide fails on the second number even though the first one looks fine. The airline’s wording adds that handles, wheels, and straps count, so a soft bag that squashes down to the right shape only counts if it stays squashed when it is measured.

In a kitchen, the practical test is to put the bag against a wall and check all three directions, not just the one you can see. A backpack with a stiff frame sheet or a laptop sleeve that holds its shape will measure larger than the same bag empty. If the bag is close to the limit in any direction, the frame and the sleeve are what push it over.

Why the carry-on sentence matters more than the number

The carry-on figure is 24 by 16 by 10 inches, again including handles, wheels, and straps. The wheels are the part people forget. A rolling bag is often sold by its body size, and the wheels and the telescoping handle sit outside that body size, so a bag advertised at the carry-on limit can measure larger once those parts are included. That is the sentence that decides whether a bag is refused at the gate: not whether it looks like a carry-on, but whether it fits the measurement with everything attached.

Frontier sells seat selection from $15 per passenger, per flight segment, and boarding position from $2.99 to $14.99 per passenger, per direction. Those are separate from the bag itself, and they are the kind of charge that appears when you are already deep into a booking. The bag measurement is the one you can check at home with a tape measure.

Checked bags: weight first, then linear inches

A checked bag is allowed up to 40 pounds. Above that, the airline charges by band. Bags weighing 41 to 50 pounds are charged $75 per bag, per direction. Bags weighing 51 to 99.99 pounds are charged $129 per bag for bookings made on or after 4 April 2026. Bags in excess of 100 pounds will not be accepted at all, so the heaviest band is also the point where the bag does not travel.

Size is counted separately. A checked bag is allowed 62 linear inches, which the airline defines as length plus width plus depth, including handles, wheels, and straps. Linear inches are a sum, so a bag that is long and shallow can total the same as a bag that is short and deep. Bags between 63 and 110 linear inches are charged $75 per bag, per direction. A bag over that range is outside what the airline will take.

What happens at the counter when a bag is over

When a checked bag goes onto the scale and reads above 40 pounds, the agent applies the band that fits. A bag at 41 to 50 pounds adds $75 per bag, per direction. A bag at 51 to 99.99 pounds adds $129 per bag on bookings made on or after 4 April 2026. A bag in excess of 100 pounds is refused, which means the contents have to be moved or the bag stays behind.

The size charge is separate from the weight charge, and it is also $75 per bag, per direction for bags between 63 and 110 linear inches. A bag can be inside the weight limit and outside the size limit, or the other way around, and the airline’s wording treats them as two different questions. The measurement includes handles, wheels, and straps, so a bag that is exactly at 62 linear inches without its wheels can go over once they are counted.

Changing and cancelling a trip with bags booked

Basic Fare change fees range from $0 at 60 or more days before departure to $129 at 6 days or less, for bookings made on or after 5 June 2026. Cancelling a Basic Fare costs $99 to $129 per passenger, per direction, while Economy and bundle fares are $0. Those figures are about the ticket, not the bag, but they matter when a bag fee has already been paid and the trip moves.

A bag fee is charged per bag, per direction, so a return trip doubles the figure you see for one leg. That is the reason a $75 overweight charge is worth reading as $75 each way. The airline’s own pages state the per-direction wording, and it is the wording that applies when you are deciding whether to repack at the kitchen table or pay at the airport.

Reading the figures before you repack

Start with the personal item, because it is the one bag that does not carry a fee. If it measures 18 by 14 by 8 inches with handles, wheels, and straps included, it fits the airline’s stated limit. If it does not, the next step is the carry-on at 24 by 16 by 10 inches, again with everything attached, and that bag has its own charge.

For a checked bag, weigh it before you leave. Under 40 pounds avoids the weight bands entirely. Between 41 and 50 pounds adds $75 per bag, per direction. Between 51 and 99.99 pounds adds $129 per bag on bookings made on or after 4 April 2026. Over 100 pounds is refused. Then measure the total of length plus width plus depth, including handles, wheels, and straps, and compare it with 62 linear inches. Between 63 and 110 linear inches adds $75 per bag, per direction. These are the airline’s figures from its own pages on a stated date, and they are the ones to check again before departure.

Where these figures came from

Every figure above was read from Frontier Airlines’s own pages on the date beside it. Airlines change these without notice and without a changelog, so the date is part of the figure. The pages are linked here so the current wording can be checked directly rather than taken from this one.

• https://www.flyfrontier.com/travel/travel-info/bag-options/
• https://www.flyfrontier.com/optional-services