Fly Air China economy and you get one free checked bag, not two. Business and First get two bags at 32 kg each. Economy and Premium Economy get a single 23 kg piece, even to and from the United States.
That trips up US travelers who expect a second free bag on a long flight. The Air China baggage allowance below comes straight from the carrier’s own baggage pages and fee schedules. We checked it in September 2026.
One number was not published anywhere on Air China’s consumer channels: a fixed carry-on size. We say so below rather than guess.
Checked baggage on international routes
The Air China baggage allowance splits checked baggage by cabin, not by route. First and Business Class passengers can check two bags. Each can weigh up to 32 kg, or 70 lb.
Premium Economy and Economy passengers get one bag, up to 23 kg, or 50 lb. Every free piece must also measure between 60 cm and 158 cm in combined length, width, and height. In inches, that is 24 to 62 combined.
A bag can weigh as little as 2 kg, but no checked piece may exceed 32 kg. Air China does not cap how many total pieces you check, only how many ride free.
Domestic China flights run on a different scale
A domestic leg inside China changes the Air China baggage allowance from a piece count to a flat weight. First Class gets 40 kg. Business gets 30 kg.
Premium Economy and Economy both get 20 kg. Domestic overweight fees are billed as a percent of the economy fare per kilogram, not a flat rate.
US travelers connecting inside China should plan around this domestic figure on its own. Mixing the two allowances is the most common way flyers pay for weight they thought was covered.
Carry-on size: no fixed number on record
This is the one gap we will not paper over. Air China’s mobile and desktop baggage pages cover checked baggage in real detail, down to the kilogram. None of the official pages we could reach state a specific carry-on length, width, or height.
Some carriers publish a firm cabin bag limit in centimeters. Air China’s own channels simply do not, at least not on the pages open to us. Until that changes, pack toward the tightest common international standard and confirm at check-in.
Our size checker tool flags a bag that runs large against that standard. Our carry-on rules page explains why airlines vary so much on this point.
What the Air China baggage allowance looks like at the gate
Air China’s own baggage page lists the checked weights above. Travelers describe a much looser standard for carry-on bags in practice. Several accounts describe transpacific flights where nobody weighs a bag or two well past any typical limit.
Other travelers describe the opposite: a gate agent who pulls bags aside and checks them by hand. Which version you get seems to depend more on the specific flight and station than on any posted rule.
A related complaint comes up often. Travelers who try to prepay for extra weight online sometimes find the option unavailable for their route. They end up paying the higher counter rate instead.
What USA and Hawaii routes pay for extra bags
Air China prices excess baggage by world region. Flights touching the USA or Hawaii sit in their own bracket, with their own dollar figures.
A first extra bag on a USA or Hawaii route costs 200 dollars. A second extra bag also costs 200 dollars. A third bag and beyond costs 230 dollars each.
Those figures run lower than Air China’s fees on Americas to Europe or Asia routes that skip the US. Our baggage cost tool can total a fourth or fifth bag before you reach the counter. Air China’s own overweight fee page carries the current appendix tables.
Overweight and oversized fees on US departures
Air China’s fees for weight and size stack, so a bag failing both costs more than either alone. On USA and Hawaii routes, a bag weighing 23 to 28 kg at standard size costs 100 dollars extra. Push it to 28 to 32 kg and the charge rises to 150 dollars.
An oversized bag tops 158 cm but stays under 203 cm, and costs 150 dollars at normal weight. Combine both problems and the fee jumps to 300 dollars.
That is worth knowing before you pack one overstuffed suitcase instead of splitting the load across two bags.
The bottom line
The Air China baggage allowance rewards planning by cabin, not by habit. Business and First flyers get real headroom: two bags at 70 lb each. Economy gets one bag at 50 lb and should treat every kilogram past that as a real charge.
Domestic China connections use a completely different, weight based system, so check both legs on their own. We could not confirm a carry-on limit on Air China’s own site, so we are not printing one.
See our editorial policy for how we handle a gap like this. For context, our Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines pages cover two other Asia based carriers. Our bag finder tool can help you shop for a bag that fits whichever number matters most.
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