I have seen most of the tickets mention that 7kg is the Cabin Baggage Limit. But I often get confused whether it includes laptop bag weight also? Can I carry cabin bag and laptop bag both?

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    Hi there, is there a specific airline in your mind when you ask the question? I'd assume the baggage policy differs quite wildly between airlines. – B.Liu Sep 30 '18 at 15:41
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    @Sam It may also depend on the ticket class. – Traveller Sep 30 '18 at 17:57
  • Note that many airlines (especially low cost carriers) now do not allow for a carry on and a laptop, but only a single item. – jcaron Oct 1 '18 at 8:03
  • @B.Liu I am referring to Air Canada Guideline: aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/plan/baggage/carry-on.html . Here, I am not able to understand what should be my Laptop Bag Size. Mine is slightly bigger than what they have mentioned as Personal Article. And also most of famous brand Laptop Bags are also bigger than the Personal Article size. – Sam Oct 2 '18 at 7:39
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    If it's bigger than the allowed limits for a personal article, then it's a standard article, and you are allowed only one of those. Many bags for a 15" laptop fit within the personal article max dimensions, but not all. Bags for 17" laptops will probably not fit. Note also that I don't see a 7 kg limit, where did you see that? – jcaron Oct 2 '18 at 12:13

Typically, unless explicitly stated otherwise, assume the weight limit is the TOTAL of ALL items.

As to size, if it's larger than the maximum sizes mentioned, assume it's too large even if "it's normal for this kind of thing to be larger".

ACA doesn't seem to have a specific WEIGHT limit for carry on items, except that it must not be so heavy you can't lift it into the bins (which means, lift it over your head). That aside, I seriously doubt they're going to be happy if a professional weight lifter brings 100kg of carry on luggage, which he'd be quite capable of lifting :) Always keep in mind other passengers and that the bins have a maximum weight capacity, not just size. I've flown on flights where the overhead bins were stuffed over capacity and were visibly sagging. Not a comforting thought sitting under them, especially in turbulence.

Here's a somewhat relevant article written by a flight attendant.

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    This is certainly the safe approach, but in fact those airlines that I just checked that do have a weight limit are explicit about what the weight limit applies to, so no assumptions are necessary. – phoog Oct 2 '18 at 15:30
  • @phoog sure, but always better safe than sorry. don't want to be told at the gate that you have too much carry on luggage and can either pay to have it gate checked or leave it behind. Which imo airlines should be a lot stricter at, I still regularly see passengers with 4-5 oversized and obviously very heavy bags as carry on board airliners without the gate crew batting an eye, and then late in the checkin process they have to forcibly gate check items that are within the limits because there's no more room in the cabin for any bags. – jwenting Oct 3 '18 at 4:44

Unfortunately, there are pretty much all variants. I have seen just in the last year the weight applied to the carry-on item only, the personal and carry-on item together and the personal and carry item each separately.

So it largely depends on the airline and the class of service. If unsure and you cannot find the info on the airline website clearly, then often you can contact support via online chat, messenger or phone. It will give you the official final answer, so you don't have to worry about someone giving you wrong or outdated information, or even the one for the wrong class of service.

  • Rules are applied (or not) by airline agents on duty at check-in and at the gate. We've all had the experience of seeing agents turn a blind eye at way-too-large carryons. If the agent is grumpy, anything could happen. – DavidSupportsMonica Oct 2 '18 at 13:53
  • Yes. Rules are there but enforcement varries widely and that changes depending on the airline, agent and flight capacity. – Itai Oct 2 '18 at 16:43

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