Lightweight cabin dog carrier, 45 x 28 x 23 cm
Your dog isn't too heavy to fly. Your bag might be.
Most European airlines weigh your dog and the bag together, and the limit is 8 kg.
So I'm making a bag that's 23 cm tall, the height most of them publish, with a target weight of 750 g. Join the waitlist and be the first to hear when it goes live.
- 45 cm
- Long
- 28 cm
- Wide
- 23 cm
- Tall
- 750 g
- Target weight
Daisy gained a kilo and the maths stopped working
For years Daisy weighed a solid 5.5 kg. I never had to think about her bag. I'd leave her toys in it, her food, whatever I was bringing with me, and off we went.
Then she was spayed, and she settled at around 6.5 kg. That's still a small dog. But the dog and the bag go on the scale together, and the limit for the two of them is 8 kg.
A cabin bag weighs about a kilo. So on paper we're at 7.5 kg, with half a kilo to spare. It hasn't always worked out that way. I've watched the check-in scale show nearly a kilo more than the maths says it should. Maybe the bag gets heavier as it gets older. Maybe the scales are a bit off. Either way, it's their scale that counts.
I keep Daisy's weight in check, but summer makes it harder, when it's too hot for her to walk as much. There's only so much I can do about that. The bag is the part I can change.
I put on one kilo. One. And now everybody's got a calculator.
Daisy
Lighter, and 23 cm tall
Every gram of bag is a gram your dog can't have
Expect to be weighed. In my experience it happens about nine times out of ten, and the number on the check-in scale is the only one that matters.
Most cabin carriers I found weigh between 1.1 and 2 kg empty, and most makers don't publish the figure at all. They print how heavy a dog the bag can hold, which is a different number. This one is being built to 750 g, and that number is written into the factory's brief.
23 cm, because that's the number the airlines publish
The bag I've carried Daisy in for years is 25 cm tall. Most European airlines publish 23 cm. Nobody has ever taken a tape measure to it, but they do look at the size of the dog in the bag, and I've stood in enough check-in queues wondering if today's the day.
There's enough stress in flying with a dog already. So this one is 23 cm. I won't notice two centimetres. Daisy won't either.
A 6.5 kg dog against the 8 kg limit, with four different bags
The 1.4 kg and 2 kg bags are empty weights that makers and retailers publish, read in September 2026. The 750 g figure is the target, not a measured weight yet.
Where a 45 x 28 x 23 cm carrier fits
No single carrier size works on every airline, and nobody issues an "airline approved" certificate. So here's 45 x 28 x 23 cm against what each airline publishes, including the ones where it doesn't fit.
| Airline | Published cabin carrier size, cm | Does 45 x 28 x 23 fit? |
|---|---|---|
| Lufthansa | 55 x 40 x 23 | ✓ Fits |
| Austrian | 55 x 40 x 23 | ✓ Fits |
| SWISS | 55 x 40 x 23 | ✓ Fits |
| Brussels Airlines | 55 x 40 x 23 | ✓ Fits |
| ITA Airways | 55 x 40 x 23 | ✓ Fits |
| Finnair | 55 x 40 x 23soft carriers | ✓ Fits |
| KLM | 46 x 28 x 24 | ✓ Fits |
| TAP Air Portugal | 45 x 30 x 23 | ✓ Fits |
| Iberia | 45 x 35 x 25and no more than 105 cm when you add the three together | ✓ Fits |
| Turkish Airlines | 40 x 30 x 23 | ✕ 5 cm too long |
| SAS | 40 x 25 x 23 | ✕ Too long and too wide |
| Vueling | 45 x 39 x 21 | ✕ 2 cm too tall |
| LOT Polish | 55 x 40 x 2045 x 30 x 20 on Embraer aircraft | ✕ 3 cm too tall |
Every size was read from the airline's own website on 21 September 2026, and each name links to the page it came from. Airlines change these sizes, and some aircraft have tighter limits than the airline's standard. Check your airline and your aircraft before you book, and again before you fly.
The brief, line by line
A lot of a carrier's weight isn't holding anything up. It's the moulded base, the padded walls, the fleece and the extra pockets. Take those out and the bag does the same job.
What stays is what the airlines ask for and what your dog needs.
Where it's at. The brief is with the factory and samples come next. Nothing here is a claim about a finished bag yet. When the first sample arrives it goes on my scale, and I'll publish the number it shows.
- Size45 x 28 x 23 cm on the outside, measured on the finished bag
- Weight750 g target, empty, with the strap and base in
- BuildSoft-sided, with no frame, wheels or pull handle, which several airlines refuse
- TopSoft, with nothing rigid in the top third, so it gives under the seat
- MeshBoth long sides, both ends and the top
- OpeningsTop and front, with lockable zips
- BaseThin and removable, with a washable pad and a waterproof floor
- InsideA safety tether in the centre of the base
- CarryingHandles, a shoulder strap that comes off, and a sleeve that slides over your suitcase handle
- Side panelZips out for more floor space at the gate or in the lounge, and zips shut to fly
- ColourCream with tan trim, because nearly every other carrier is black, grey or navy
Be the first to hear when it goes live
Leave your email and I'll tell you when the bag is ready, what the sample weighed and where it fits. Tell me your dog's weight too if you like. It helps me see how many of you are close to the limit.