DTW 43 minutes and the Rick Steves carry on bag

43 minutes? No way, if you were connecting to a domestic flight, with only a carry-on, you could probably do it. Usually, you can't transfer to an international flight in that time frame. Check with the airline directly, I wouldn't be surprised if there are flight rules about when you need to be checked in, through security and waiting to board for international flights - and I wouldn't be surprised if it's at least an hour (and more likely an hour and a half) in the gate waiting area.

It's actually a legal connection... I have done it. Would I recommend it? NO, but there you are. Assuming Brad is flying Delta to DTW he's checked in when he checks in there, they check the documents etc... in DTW you just go to the gate and it's in the same terminal so no need to deal with security etc... I literally had to RUN to my gate and was very stressed. It allows no room for error and that 93% "on time" doesn't mean you got off the plane "on time" it means it LANDED on time. As a DL Frequent Flyer IMHO thier ground ops SUCK and after you land you get to spend 20 minutes while they figure out what to do about the fact that your plane is there and the gate is full (never mind that in Atlanta they have LOTS of other empty gates LOL!)

As someone who travels light, regardless of the length of trip, I can absolutely assure you that Rick's Convertible Carry On will fit in the overhead bin and/or under the seat. I've done it on numerous occasions with no difficulty( last trip was in November, two weeks in England, Wales, and France, fully packed my Convertible Carry On weighed 16# and I had everything I needed... I use Rick's packing list as a guide, and then tweak it to suit my own personal preferences). Of course, if you pack the bag to the bursting point you may have some problems, but then packed to bursting it probably wouldn't meet the carry on guidelines( eg weight) anyway...
Here's a suggestion if you are concerned about your checked bag...in a small carry on, pack enough clothes and other essentials to get you through a day or two on the other side, in case your checked bag gets misplaced. I can ( and have), used Rick's Civita day bag as a weekend bag, and can easily pack it to live for several days.

Yes, the bag will fit.... However, with the 43 minute connection you are going to be amoung the last too board which means.... overherad space is likely to be FULL! Boarding on an internatiional starts about 45 minutes in advance. So by the time you get off, race to the gate etc you are going to be near the end. As a general rule that means "gate check"

I agree with Glenn's idea. To take it a bit further, pack some big plastic bags. If they want to gate check your bag, you can pull everything out of it, stuff them in a couple of plastic bags that you can then stuff under your seat and wedge in to a "full" overhead bin. This is pretty extreme, though. Admittedly, Glenn's idea of packing only a survival bag that you can pull out at the last makes more sense.

Great points all around. Thanks for the responses. I've decided to take an earlier flight with a longer connection time to avoid the whole problem. Thanks again.

I think that's wise. We had a 45-min. Delta connection in Atlanta last summer. We arrived on another Delta flight and sat on the ground there for a while before it finally taxied to the gate. When we were finally in the airport, we raced to the gate and got there 5 minutes before the plane was due to take off. The plane was still there but the gate was closed, so they wouldn't let us (and 4 other people) board. Finally one of the attendants admitted that they had given away our seats because we weren't there 15 minutes in advance of the flight ... even though we had been connecting from another Delta flight which caused the delay! I hope to never take another Delta flight.

I had one last summer at Dulles. Because there was lightning in the area, they suspended ground ops - we sat on taxiway just fifty feet or so from our empty gate for 45 minutes, after landing on-time.

I know it is a legal connection, but if you have a full flight from CLT, it may take you as much 15-20 minutes to get off your plane (people standing in the aisles, getting bags from overhead, dealing with children). If you are not by the exit door and if people don't let you pass, it can take forever. Also, the door to your International flight is closed at least 10 minutes prior to departure time. So, you actually could have as little as 10-15 minutes between flights. A stressful way to start your trip. In fact, on one trip connection (between domestic flights) of 45 minutes, I missed my flight to DC because we landed on time, but sat on the tarmac for 30-35 minutes waiting for another flight to push away from our gate. I was seated in the back, so by the time I got off the flight, my DC flight was taxing for take-off. See if you can't get an earlier flight from Charlotte to Detroit. You may end up sitting at the Detroit airport for 2-3 hours, but that is less stressful than sitting on the tarmac, unable to get off the plane while the minutes tick by.