Continental Downsizes Your Carry-on

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

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Effective November 1, [[Continental Airlines | Continental’s]] maximum allowable carry-on size will shrink from 51 linear inches (the combined length, width, and height) to 45 linear inches. According to Continental, this move will align Continental’s restrictions with those of its [[SkyTeam]] partners, which include [[Delta Air Lines | Delta]], [[Northwest Airlines | Northwest]], and [[Air France]].

A Continental spokeswoman told BusinessWeek the carry-on downsizing has nothing at all to do with the airline’s recent decision to implement a $15 checked-bag fee, but I’m not buying it. Checked-bag fees have led people to try traveling only with a carry-on, which inevitably results in a few folks stretching the limits of what an overhead bin can hold. Reducing the allowable carry-on size will surely free up some space in those bins—which, mind you, is not a bad thing—though it will make it a little harder to travel sans checked baggage.

Here’s Continental’s carry-on policy, updated to reflect the change.

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