Porter Airlines Basic fares do not include a carry-on bag at all. You get one personal item. Everything else, even a small roller bag, has to be checked or paid for separately.
That is the detail most US travelers miss when booking the cheapest fare out of Toronto, Newark, or Boston. The Porter Airlines baggage allowance runs on six fare tiers split into two families: PorterClassic and PorterReserve. What your bag can weigh, how many you get free, and what a slip up costs all depend on which fare you picked.
Personal item and carry-on: what actually fits
Every fare, including Basic, includes one personal item. It can measure up to 33 by 43 by 16 cm, or roughly 13 by 17 by 6 inches. Think laptop bag or small backpack that slides under the seat.
The standard carry-on allowance is 55 by 40 by 23 cm, about 21.5 by 15.5 by 9 inches. Porter does not publish a weight cap for either bag on its own carry-on baggage page. That means fit is what gets checked at the gate, not a scale.
Run your bag through the size checker before you leave the house if you are close to the limit.
The Basic fare catch
This is the part of the Porter Airlines baggage allowance that trips people up. Basic fare passengers get the personal item and nothing more in the cabin. Standard, Flexible, Freedom, Navigate, and Ultimate fares all include a full size carry-on bag at no extra cost.
Show up with a roller bag on a Basic fare and Porter will check it at the gate rate. That rate is never the cheap one. Buy the bag ahead of time online if you know you are bringing one.
Porter Airlines baggage allowance for checked bags by fare tier
Basic and Standard fares include zero free checked bags. Flexible and Freedom, the higher PorterClassic tiers, each come with one complimentary checked bag. Navigate and Ultimate, the PorterReserve tiers, come with two.
Every included checked bag is capped at 23 kg, or 50 lb. No single bag can weigh more than 32 kg, or 70 lb, even if you are willing to pay overweight fees.
The overall size limit is 158 cm, about 62 inches, measured as length plus width plus height.
What a checked bag costs if it is not free
Porter’s fee structure rewards planning ahead. On Basic and Standard fares for Canada, US, and sun destinations, a first checked bag runs roughly 50 to 63 dollars when paid online at booking. Wait until check-in at the airport and that same bag runs closer to 60 to 81 dollars.
Show up at the gate with it and expect 80 to 104 dollars. A second bag follows the same climbing pattern, from about 65 dollars booked in advance to well over 90 dollars paid at the gate.
A third bag and beyond gets expensive fast. Porter states plainly that paying in advance is always cheaper than paying at the airport, and its own fee tables back that up.
Overweight and oversize charges
Go over 23 kg on a checked bag and Porter charges by the kilogram. The rate runs roughly 20 to 25 dollars per kilogram over the limit, per direction. That structure is less forgiving than a flat overweight fee.
Oversized bags, anything topping 158 cm in combined dimensions, add a separate charge of roughly 100 to 115 dollars per bag, per direction. Bikes and firearms carry their own handling fees in a similar range.
Check the baggage cost tool before you pack something odd.
PorterClassic versus PorterReserve, briefly
PorterClassic covers Basic, Standard, Flexible, and Freedom. These are Porter’s more budget leaning fares. PorterReserve covers Navigate and Ultimate, which add the second free checked bag plus other perks Porter markets as a premium economy style product.
Checking two bags on a US trip? Navigate can pencil out cheaper than Flexible fare plus a second bag fee.
Traveling with just a personal item? Basic is genuinely the cheapest way to fly Porter, as long as you pack light and mean it.
What travelers report about the Porter Airlines baggage allowance
Porter does not publish a carry-on weight limit, and reports at check-in match that gap. Some travelers say a heavy bag went through without a second look. Others describe being charged an overweight fee on a checked bag the same week a nearby passenger was told their bag was light enough to carry on instead.
The more common complaint has nothing to do with weight. Travelers who booked through a third party site say they expected a free carry-on on a cheap fare and were charged for one at the airport.
Porter’s own site calls that free item a personal item, not a carry-on, on Basic fare. Read the fare name closely before you count on bringing a roller bag.
The bottom line
The Porter Airlines baggage allowance rewards buying the right fare up front more than most US carriers do. The gap between a free carry-on on Standard and a personal item only Basic fare is the single biggest thing to check before you book.
Compare that against how Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines structure their own basic fares. Charging for a cabin bag on the cheapest tier is not unique to Porter.
For general packing limits across carriers, see our carry-on rules page. If a number on this page ever looks off, our editorial policy explains how we check and update it.
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