Virgin Atlantic does not publish a personal-item size. The only published rule is that it fits under the seat in front of you. Put your own bag's measurements in below.
| Personal item maximum | No numeric size published — it must fit under the seat |
| Is it free? | Yes — every fare includes one personal item |
| Full-size carry-on | 22 x 14.2 x 9 in (also included) |
| If it does not fit | You must be able to place it in the overhead bin unaided. |
Virgin Atlantic publishes no personal-item measurement. Virgin Atlantic publishes NO numeric personal-item size. Its baggage document lists permitted extras — a handbag, small backpack, purse, overcoat, umbrella or small camera — with no dimensions. Figures quoted elsewhere are not Virgin's published rule.
Virgin Atlantic is one of 6 airlines in our set that publish no personal-item dimensions. The rule is functional rather than numeric: the bag has to fit fully under the seat in front of you, and cabin crew judge it by whether it does.
Figures for Virgin Atlantic circulate widely anyway. They come from measuring the under-seat space on particular aircraft, or from copying another airline's published limit — neither is Virgin Atlantic's rule, and neither binds the person at the gate. We publish the absence instead, because a traveller who buys a bag to an invented number and is charged for it has been misled by the number, not by the airline.
In practice the under-seat space on a narrowbody is roughly 17 to 19 inches wide and 9 to 11 inches high, and it shrinks where a seat has a lifejacket box or an entertainment unit beneath it. A soft bag that squashes is worth far more than an exact measurement here.
Both bags are included in the fare on Virgin Atlantic, so the personal item is an addition to your 22 x 14.2 x 9 in carry-on rather than a replacement for it. The two limits are judged separately — a bag that is too big for under the seat may still be fine overhead.
Virgin Atlantic publishes a cabin weight limit of 22 lb (10 kg) — 10 kg in Economy and Premium; Upper Class allows two pieces, 16 kg combined. Weight is checked far less often than size, but it is the rule most likely to catch you on a bag full of books or camera gear.
You must be able to place it in the overhead bin unaided. An over-large personal item usually travels overhead instead, which is free on Virgin Atlantic and therefore a much softer landing than on a carrier that charges for the carry-on.
Two practical notes that apply on any airline: the under-seat space is smaller in a row with a lifejacket box or an entertainment unit beneath the seat, and a soft bag that compresses will pass where a rigid case of identical stated dimensions will not. Measure with anything strapped to the outside included.
Virgin Atlantic does not publish a numeric personal-item size. The published requirement is that it fits completely under the seat in front of you — so any figure you see quoted elsewhere is someone's inference, not Virgin Atlantic's rule.
Yes. Every Virgin Atlantic fare includes one personal item.
A purse, small backpack, laptop bag, briefcase or similar. Virgin Atlantic publishes NO numeric personal-item size. Its baggage document lists permitted extras — a handbag, small backpack, purse, overcoat, umbrella or small camera — with no dimensions. Figures quoted elsewhere are not Virgin's published rule.
You must be able to place it in the overhead bin unaided.
The personal item goes under the seat and is free. The carry-on goes in the overhead locker and can be up to 22 x 14.2 x 9 in, included with your fare.
Yes — Virgin Atlantic measures the whole bag, so soft bags that squash down have a real advantage under the seat.