Air Iceland carry-on

Hi blansief:

For what it's worth: I flew from Seattle to London and from London to Seattle on Iceland Air just a few months ago. My carryon bag was an Osprey 40 which is 8 inches x 16 inches x 20 or 22 inches. The folks at the check in counter just eye balled the bag and let me bring it aboard. They did not weigh it. Just because this is how they treated me doesn't mean that they will not be strict with you. On the England forum someone described how Virgin Air put the thumbscrews on him for his carryon.

I'm in Europe now and we flew Icelandair from Seattle just a couple of weeks ago. I assume you are flying to Seattle and taking Icelandair from there. No one looked at our carryon or anyone else's apparently, since people brought HUGE bags onboard. It was ridiculous. You can check bags for free. We have carryon size bags but checked them for convenience. By the time we cleared customs in Keflavik, all bags had been pulled off the conveyor and neatly lined up. So while people were struggling to organize their various bags, we were already in a taxi. Icelandair is pretty relaxed. We flew to Heathrow a couple of days later and same situation: no one looked at anyone's bags; more absurdly bulky carryon luggage was everywhere.

55 cm is 21 5/8", 3/8 inch less than the 22 inches (or more) of a lot of US bags. And if, as is often the case, the wheels and handle make them 22 inches*or more, and there is nothing you can do to make such a bag fit in the sizer.

That is why British Air increased their length limit to 56 cm or 50/thousandth over 22 inches.

15 3/4" by 7 7/8" used to be pretty standard for European airlines, but I've noticed recently that they seem to be adopting the US standard of 14" x 9". Both are pretty much the same x-sect area, so if the bag is flexible, it should conform to either spec, particularly if not packed to the limit. Unfortunately, most rolling bags, for stability, use more or less rigid frames, that prevent the bag deforming to any other shape.

How picky are they?

Their rules allow them to be as picky as they want to be. Don't give them the opportunity.

I flew Icelandair from Boston to Paris in March, and had carry-on that I knew was close to the dimensional limit. I almost made it on to the plane, but one of the staff stopped me just as my boarding pass was being taken, and made me measure it. It was close, and the woman checking it wanted to let it go, but she was overruled. Meanwhile, we wife got on the plane and told me that people were lugging on bags bigger than mine. So one never knows.

Blansief: We flew Icelandair last fall--didn't have a problem with carry-on; but, we kept our carry-ons within the stated dimensions. Restating what others have already said: "you pays your money and you takes your chances." It's their rules and they are the enforcers.

One never knows, but I think if you plan to carry on, you should make sure you are within their limits so there's no worrying associated with it.

Typically, European carriers also have weight limits, which can also be strictly enforced, so make sure you fit the weight limit also.

My last 4 flights with Icelandic Air, my carry-ons were a bit stuffed, but they never said a word about them. Checked bags are free, so this is a great option so you can carry on a smaller bag.

Thanks everyone who responded. We were worried initially about packing everything for 3 weeks into carry-on, because we have a short window to change planes in Reykjavik (still on Iceland Air) and we thought we might have to go through customs there with checked baggage. Turns out we can check bags all the way to Amsterdam and go through customs in Schiphol Airport. There will only be a passport control in Reykjavik. No worries!

My bag was also (supposedly) checked through to Paris, but I guess it liked Iceland so much it spent the night there. I finally got it 5 days later. Maybe the fact that the bag was dropped off and checked just before I boarded had something to do with it.

Just flew with them Monday, and, if it didn't fit, you checked it. Seemed to have people with very sharp eyes doing the check-in at the gate, and probably 10-12 people were denied.

I have flown with Icelandair numerous times, carry-on only, and they have never given me trouble about it. Unless yours looks huge or they see you struggling to fit it into the overhead bin, I think you will be just fine.

Edit: however, this is with regards to dimensions -- DO keep an eye on the weight of the bag. In my experience, the ticketing agents have been very mindful of monitoring weight as opposed to dimensions, at least at SeaTac.