40 × 30 × 15 cm – the new free personal-item standard
If you fly the Nordic and Baltic routes, 40x30x15 cm is a size worth building your travel around. It's the free personal item on Finnair and airBaltic — the home carriers out of Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius — and it's allowed free by KLM, British Airways, Jet2 and the Lufthansa Group too. European airlines have agreed a common minimum free bag of at least 40 × 30 × 15 cm, so a bag in this size is your guaranteed fee-free carry-on across more and more of Europe.
At around 18 litres it's a focused travel bag rather than a weekend case: room for a laptop, a change of clothes, a toiletry bag and your travel documents, all fitting neatly beneath the seat. For a weekend in Riga or a couple of days in Helsinki with hand luggage only, it's often all you need — and it never costs extra.
Perfect for
- Weekend city breaks with light packing
- Business trips where a laptop and an overnight kit is enough
- A free personal item on Finnair, airBaltic, KLM and BA
- Travellers who want one bag that flies free almost everywhere
Our selection of 40x30x15 cm bags
Compact backpacks — Everyday and travel daypacks sized to the personal-item standard, with a padded laptop sleeve and enough room for a short trip.
Laptop & work bags — Structured bags that protect a 14–15" laptop and keep cables, chargers and documents organised — ideal for business travel.
Underseat bags & holdalls — Soft bags that squash to fit the under-seat space and expand when you need them, giving flexible packing within the free limit.
Important about airline baggage rules
While 40 × 30 × 15 cm reflects the new European free-bag standard, not every airline worldwide has adopted it and weight limits still differ — Finnair and airBaltic, for example, apply a combined weight allowance across your bags. Always check your airline's current baggage rules before departure so you know exactly what's included in your fare.
Travel smarter with the free-bag standard
Choosing a 40x30x15 cm bag means you rarely have to think about baggage fees again. It's the size airlines have agreed to carry for free, it fits under the seat with room for the essentials, and it turns "hand luggage only" from a gamble into a plan.
FAQ
- Which airlines allow a 40x30x15 cm bag for free? Finnair, airBaltic, KLM, British Airways, Jet2 and the Lufthansa Group are among the carriers that allow a personal item of this size free of charge, in line with the European free-bag standard.
- Is 40x30x15 cm big enough as my only bag? For a short or light trip, yes — around 18 litres holds a laptop and a couple of days' essentials. For longer trips, pair it with a larger cabin bag.
- What's the difference between 40x30x15 and 40x30x20? The 40 × 30 × 20 cm size is the larger free bag on Ryanair and Wizz Air; 40 × 30 × 15 cm is the slimmer standard used by many full-service and Nordic/Baltic carriers. Choose by the airline you fly most.
