# Travel >> Travel Preparation >> Travel Regulations

How to Measure My Luggage for Check-In on a Plane

With fees for checked bags at an all-time high, travelers are increasingly concerned with how to measure luggage for check-in on a plane. If your bag does not meet the maximum size requirements to carry the bag on the flight then you will be forced to check your bag and pay the associated fee. For that reason, it is important to understand how to measure luggage for check-in when traveling by air. The process is simple if you follow the steps explained below.

Ruler
Calculator
Log for Measurements

Instructions

- 1
  Locate a measuring tape or ruler, and take measurements in lineal inches of all dimensions of the bag and log them for future reference.
- 2
  Add the length, depth, width of the bag to assess the total lineal value in inches.
- 3
  Elevate the bag so that it is easily accessible. Using the measuring tape or ruler, take the length of the long edge of the bag, measuring from right to left and record the value in inches, in your log.
- 4
  Use the ruler or measuring tape to survey the bottom of the bag and record this measurement as the width in the log.
- 5
  Measure the depth of the bag with the ruler or measuring tape by assessing the length from the front of the bag to the back of the bag. Enter this figure into the log.
- 6
  Find the sum of the width, depth and length of the bag. For a bag with a width of 9 inches, a depth of 5 inches, and a length of 13 inches, add the three values. In this instance the lineal value of the bag is 27 inches.