Flying to Amsterdam on Delta

I would be very confident if you are flying in Comfort+ or higher.
If you are in economy, you still have a high likelihood of being fine. I fly only Delta and I have never seen a bag turned away based on size. If the plane is full they will ask for volunteers to gate check the bag. If your main reason for carry on is cost, then you can always volunteer for that.

I've flown Delta a lot, both domestically and internationally, and only seen Delta agents be particular when someone is carrying more bags than allotted, but never seen them concerned about an inch in the size of a carry-on.

I agree with Vandabrud and Jeff. Delta is my choice of airline. I’ve heard multiple announcements at the gate saying this is a full flight and asking for people to voluntarily check.

I would be prepared to pull anything out of your bag you might need on the flight including anything valuable in case the bins are full, though.

Where are your seats?

I’ll add that I obsessed about a flight last fall that had a segment on Air France and I made sure I met their requirements.

I've been within the dimensions or below and still been required to gate check my bag since the flight was full. Was not optional. So, just in general, make sure that all medications etc are in your personal bag. I fly economy, so that might be one of the reasons that we get picked. Have had our bags taken and seen others boarding with clearly oversized bags.

Another frequent Delta flyer here. I have seen some ridiculously large bags carried on to Delta flights. Delta staff do not police carry on size at all -- I don't even recall seeing bag sizers at the gates. You will be fine unless the plane runs out of room for carry on bags; even then, as noted above, the size of your bag won't matter -- all carry ons would be checked.

Delta, my carrier of choice for over 50 years, has been incredibly flexible. I’ve seen some unusual and seemingly oversized carryon items that have made it onboard. Only once have I seen an individual departing on an international flight charged baggage fees at the boarding gate.

Two things to consider - (1) the rogue gate agent who decides to over scrutinize (happened to me over a very little box which made for three carryon items instead of two many decades ago, (2) “at 23 or perhaps a tad more” depending on the aircraft could be a momentary challenge getting it into the overhead bin.

I stay within the guidelines of the carriers. Never lost a bag but have friends whose bags have been delayed.

Do you have any flights in Europe? If so, your bag is most likely doomed to be checked.

How well do you accept an evil glare from fellow passengers, if you have to put your bag parallel to the aisle vs the designed perpendicular alignment? If your bag goes parallel, you end up taking 2-3 spaces in the bin.

Have you traveled with this bag? How did it fit?

I also fly Delta 85% of the time and as others have said, your worst case scenario is to be asked to gate check it. And if it's gate checked, the odds of it being lost are slim to none.

I'm assuming yours is a direct flight to AMS? If so then again you should be fine. But if you have a layover anywhere and Delta uses one of its partners like KLM or Air France, there is a much stronger likelihood that it will be rejected.

Thanks to all for the very helpful responses. We feel much better now and will put on our best smily faces at the gate and hope for the best. We are flying to Amsterdam on Delta all the way, originating in Florida with a plane change in Atlanta. Premium plus, so hopefully we'll be good. We are seniors, so it's a hassle carrying medical devices and prescriptions on carry-on. We have friends who just experienced a nighmare scenario, not on Delta BTW, in which their bags were lost and not found and delivered to them untl eight days into their trip.

As part of my obsession about having the right sized bag for an Air France leg last Fall I made myself a check list on what to grab if it turned out I needed to gate check. I had organized a packing cube with a spare shirt and unders plus was ready to get several other items. I tried to pack with those things at the top so it would be easy to grab the specific stuff. And put the list on a sticky note with my wallet.

Of course as it turns out that my planning was completely unnecessary but it quelled some of my anxiety so it was worth that.

If you have status with Delta, KLM and Air France will honor it and give you some leeway. Just happened to us a few days ago in Copenhagen.

In Oct 2019, Air France in Paris made my husband check the carryon that Delta had given him for 1,000,000 miles and my husband was in the top Delta priority group. He was really angry.

They are not picky at all until they decide to be. "But the RS Forum said ..." excuse won't save you. Another thread says all the flights this summer will be full .. maybe that affects how picky.

The other thing to consider is the size of the plane from your origin city to Atlanta. If it is one of those tiny planes with the tiny overhead bins, your bag isn't going to fit. From Atlanta to Amsterdam, there won't be an issue.

I am able to get my carryon backpack into those tiny overheads, but sometimes I have to take something out of my bag in order to do that. My personal item is very small so there is plenty of room under the seat for a packing cube or a jacket. Even though my backpack is as large as some of the rolling bags, the agent never asks me to gate check.

Try to have your smaller personal item fairly empty in case there’s a need to gate check your suitcase. My personal item is the LLBean Stowaway pack, and other than my purse, a pashmina and some snacks inside it, it’s empty. If I was forced to gate check my main bag, I would grab my toiletry kit, iPad, and a small packing cube of 1-2 day’s clothes and place them in that bag at my feet.

In Oct 2019, Air France in Paris made my husband check the carryon
that Delta had given him for 1,000,000 miles and my husband was in the
top Delta priority group. He was really angry.

Air France gonna Air France!