Taking a coat on a WestJet flight? It could count as your "personal" item
Heads up, before you take your next flight. WestJet might consider your jacket or coat a personal item.
The Calgary-based carrier confirmed to Daily Hive through a direct message on social media that if you aren’t wearing it, your coat could count toward your personal item allowance.
“Guests can only have one carry-on and one personal item,” read WestJet’s message.
Under the company’s carry-on baggage policy, personal clothing items, like jackets, coats, and umbrellas, can be considered additional items that don’t count toward their carry-on allowance.
Waiting to board and @WestJet staff just announced that a -jacket- counts as a personal carry on item.
So, if you’ve dressed for the weather and have a backpack on you, that’s going to be an issue. 🙄
— Shifrah Gadamsetti (@GettinShifDone) November 24, 2023
A spokesperson with WestJet, however, told Daily Hive in an emailed statement that cabin crew members or flight attendants may ask guests not to place jackets in the overhead bins to ensure everyone’s bags can fit.
The carry-on policy written on the carrier’s website states that “guests can bring one item of carry-on baggage and one personal item for no fee on WestJet and WestJet Encore flights.”
All the carry-on items have to meet the size requirements: a maximum of 53 cm x 23 cm x 38 cm for a carry-on bag and a maximum of 41 cm x 15 cm x 33 cm for personal items.