Basic Economy Carry-On Rules by Airline
'Basic economy' sounds like one universal tier, but what you're allowed to bring on the plane varies a lot by airline. Here's where each major US carrier actually stands.
The one to know: United bans it outright. United Basic Economy passengers can't bring a carry-on bag into the cabin on most domestic flights, personal item only. Bring anything bigger and it gets gate-checked for a $75 fee. Confirmed directly on united.com; this is the only hard prohibition on the list.
Pay-to-carry-on: Frontier, Allegiant. Neither bans a carry-on outright, but their lowest fare doesn't include one. It's a paid add-on priced by route, same as a checked bag. Frontier and Allegiant run $10–75 depending on where you're flying. Functionally similar to United's restriction in that you're not getting a free carry-on, just not framed as a physical ban.
Carry-on included, no exceptions: American, Delta, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue. Every fare tier at these airlines, including their cheapest ("Basic," "Blue Basic," "Saver"), includes a free carry-on bag. Southwest is the newest arrival on this list rather than the old exception to it: since 2026 its cheapest fare is called Basic and behaves like everyone else's basic economy, with no free checked bag, last boarding group, and no seat selection. The carry-on is the part that stayed free.
Sourced from each airline's own published fee pages, verified 2026-07-19.
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