Icelandair allowance at a glance
| Bag | Maximum size | Maximum weight | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carry-on | 21.6×15.7×7.8 in55x40x20 cm | 22 lb10 kg | Note the depth. At 20 cm Icelandair is shallower than the 23 to 25 cm most European carriers allow, so a bag that passes elsewhere can still fail here. Measurements include handles and wheels. Higher fares carry two cabin bags at 10 kg each, with each piece under 115 cm total. |
| Personal item | Not published | No stated limit | A small personal item is included alongside the cabin bag on every fare. Icelandair does not publish dimensions for it. |
| Checked bag | Not published | 50 standard, 70 on higher fares lb23 standard, 32 on higher fares kg |
Icelandair checked bag fees
We have not verified this airline's baggage fees against the carrier yet. Rather than guess, we have left it blank — check the airline before you fly.
This page goes deeper on one part of the policy. The full record is at Icelandair Baggage Rules.
Icelandair does not print a flat table of extra bag prices anywhere on its site. Icelandair baggage charges are set at booking, by route and fare, through the checkout calculator. There is no single published price list.
What Icelandair does publish are the limits around those charges. Those weight ceilings are fixed no matter which route you fly. They are worth knowing before you reach the counter.
Why there is no fixed fee chart
Add a checked bag, an overweight bag or an oversize item to an Icelandair booking. A price appears only after you enter your route and fare. That happens on the carrier’s own pre purchased extra bag page.
A short domestic Iceland hop does not cost the same as a transatlantic leg to Reykjavik. Icelandair prices each route on its own. It never posts one number for everyone.
Lufthansa and British Airways take the same approach on their long haul routes. Icelandair baggage charges can only be quoted for your own itinerary. There is no single dollar figure that applies everywhere.
This mirrors how most legacy long haul carriers price extras rather than how ultra low cost airlines do it. A budget carrier flying one route type can post a single number for a second bag. Icelandair connects Iceland’s domestic network with transatlantic and European routes on the same fleet, so the same extra bag means different money depending on where it flies.
Prepaid bags versus paying at the airport
Icelandair’s own terms state that a pre purchased extra bag must weigh 23 kg or less. Anything heavier, between 24 and 32 kg, cannot be prepaid online at all. It gets charged instead at the airport.
That is a meaningful gap. A traveler expecting to prepay for a 27 kg bag will find the online option will not let them. They pay the airport rate on top of whatever they already booked.
Buying the extra bag ahead of time only helps when the bag itself is 23 kg or under. Icelandair also adds a booking fee when a representative adds the bag for you. Doing it yourself online avoids that extra charge.
The absolute weight ceiling
No checked bag on Icelandair can weigh more than 32 kg, under any circumstance. A bag over that line is not accepted as checked baggage at all. It has to travel as air cargo instead, arranged and paid for separately.
Icelandair’s included checked allowance runs from one 23 kg bag on the standard fare. It climbs to two bags at 32 kg each on the highest fares. A bag sitting right at 32 kg is already using the outer edge of what any fare allows.
Weighing a bag at home avoids finding this out at the counter.
What each fare already includes
Icelandair’s fares scale together rather than mixing and matching pieces. The base fare carries one cabin bag and a personal item, with no checked bag included. Stepping up a fare tier adds a second cabin bag at 10 kg.
That same upgrade also raises the checked allowance toward two bags at 32 kg each. Reading the fare rules before booking tells you whether you are paying for a first checked bag from zero. It might already be folded into what you bought.
This matters more with Icelandair baggage charges than with airlines that quote one flat first bag fee. A fare upgrade here can cover an entire bag’s worth of cost.
Connecting through Reykjavik
Many Icelandair passengers are not flying to Iceland at all. They are connecting through Keflavik between North America and Europe on a single ticket. On a through itinerary like that, the baggage allowance and any extra bag charge are set by the fare and route printed on the whole ticket, not by each individual segment.
Checking your full itinerary’s fare rules before you fly, rather than assuming the outbound leg’s allowance carries through unchanged, avoids a surprise at the connecting gate.
Credit cards and status
Icelandair’s public terms do not list a co branded credit card that waives checked bag fees. Its Saga loyalty tiers are described in terms of extra baggage allowance, not a fee waiver. Check the pre purchased bag terms page again close to your travel date in case that changes.
A card issuer’s general travel credit can still reimburse a baggage fee after the fact. Our guide to credit cards that cover baggage fees covers how that reimbursement process works.
Keeping a bag under the line
A baggage cost calculator is the fastest way to estimate what a second or overweight bag will add to an Icelandair fare. The carrier will not show you a number until you enter your own route. Our guide to overweight and oversize baggage fees explains how these bands work across carriers generally.
That context is useful next to Icelandair’s own 32 kg ceiling. A digital luggage scale pays for itself the first time it keeps a bag under 23 kg instead of tipping into the 24 to 32 kg airport only band. Hook it on the handle before you leave for the airport rather than guessing.
Packing lighter helps too. Our guide on how to avoid baggage fees has broader strategies for any carrier on the same trip.
Carry on and checked together
Some travelers would rather fit everything into the free cabin allowance than pay for a checked bag at all. Icelandair’s carry on size page covers the exact box and how strictly it gets enforced. Our general guide to the checked baggage weight limit explains why 23 kg has become the industry default.
The full picture of Icelandair’s verified allowances, including the fare by fare breakdown, lives on the main Icelandair baggage rules page.
The bottom line
Icelandair baggage charges are not a number you can look up ahead of time. The carrier’s own checkout generates that number for your specific route and fare. Two rules stay fixed everywhere: 23 kg is the ceiling for a bag you can prepay, and 32 kg is the ceiling for any bag at all.
Stay under 23 kg and every pricing option stays open. Cross into the 24 to 32 kg band and you pay whatever the airport charges that day, with no way to lock in a cheaper rate first.
Common questions
Does Icelandair charge for a first checked bag?
It depends on your fare. The base fare includes no checked bag, while higher fare tiers include one or two bags at up to 32 kg each, so check your fare rules before assuming you need to pay.
How much does an extra bag cost on Icelandair?
Icelandair does not publish a flat price. The fee is calculated at booking based on your specific route and fare, so you need to check the price during checkout or in manage my booking.
What is the maximum weight for a prepaid extra bag?
A pre purchased extra bag must weigh 23 kg or less. Heavier bags between 24 and 32 kg cannot be prepaid online and are charged instead at the airport.
What happens if a checked bag weighs more than 32 kg?
Icelandair will not accept it as checked baggage. It has to travel as air cargo instead, arranged and paid for separately.
Does a Saga membership waive Icelandair baggage charges?
Icelandair’s published terms describe Saga tiers as extra baggage allowance rather than a fee waiver, so a Saga member gets more free weight rather than a discount on paid extras.
Is it cheaper to add a bag online or at the airport?
Adding a bag yourself online or through the app is generally the cheaper route, since Icelandair adds a booking fee when a representative adds it for you.
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