There's nothing like going on a quick weekend trip exploring other cities or taking the time to visit friends and family you haven't seen in a while. However, the costs of flying are skyrocketing (pun intended), luggage is getting lost, and airlines are charging a pretty penny for carry-on bags and checked luggage. The hunt for cheap flights and convenient travel is an ongoing challenge. One way to keep travel costs as low as possible: utilising the personal item bag. The personal item bag is a must when you have to fly no-frills options like Spirit Airlines, Frontier, or basic economy seating for domestic travel since it's the only bag you can carry, free of extra costs. These functional bags also make long-haul flights easier with convenient access to all your necessities right in front of you.

What qualifies as a personal item bag?

A personal item bag can be a backpack, a tote bag, a nappy bag, a laptop bag, or anything small enough to fit underneath the seat in front of you. Each airline has different qualifications on sizes and proportions, and we've listed a few common ones below:

• United: 9" depth x 10" width x 17" height
• Allegiant: 7" depth x 15" width x 16" height
• Spirit: 8" depth x 14" width x 18" height
• Delta: 9" depth x 13" width x 17" height
• Southwest: 8.5" depth x 13.5" width x 18.5" height
• JetBlue: 8" depth x 13" width x 17" height
• Frontier: 8" depth x 18" width x 14" height

A quality personal item bag has enough room for all your travel essentials and necessities while compact enough to fit the airline guidelines. Going on a quick weekend getaway? Your go-to personal item bag should fit all your holiday must-haves, including a few outfits, an extra pair of shoes, toiletries and makeup, necessary chargers, and maybe even a flat iron and a reusable water bottle. There are several stylish and quality personal item bags on the market that take all this into consideration so you can travel smarter. We curated the best personal item carry-on bags for flying ahead.