Alitalia and Carry on 22" X 14" X 9"

Last year I flew to Rome via Delta/KLM and carried the RS convertible 21x14x9 with no problem. Flying out of Florence, in my inexperience I had not keyed in on the fact that it was an Alitalia flight, not a KLM flight leaving from there and I had to check my bag. As we walked up to the check-in desk the agent immediately said You will have to check that. The check in desk agent also tried to make my brother check his Eagle Creek Adventure Weekender 20x13x8. She had him put it in the sizer where it fit with room to spare and also had him set it on the scale to see the weight. It was under weight as well, but they were strict. (My bag was overweight for carryon as well, by about 1 kilo).

I would be ready to check it if they insist by having all your electronics and other important stuff in your purse. Again, in my inexperience I had not done that and had to fumble at the desk to get out my kindle and charger cords. Lesson learned.

As I posted before. -----

My guess is that your bag will not meet the carryon standards because of the wheels and handle are not part of the base measurement. So if challenged by the "sizing box" you probably will not make it. However, we were recently on AItalia to Rome out of JFK and they were not concerned about size or weight. But that is no guarantee that they might check the next time. Over the years I have stood in a couple of Lufthansa lines where they put every carryon in the box. And one time with United. Almost all wheeled carryons failed. The wheels and the handles have to be inside the box. The airlines are getting stricter so you should be prepared to check since you are on the margin. And if you don't then overhead bin could be the next challenge.

I just used the RS wheeled bag. 9x20x13 1/2 and I was able to carry it on board. But once inside my bag wouldn't fit easily in the overhead. By that I mean it couldn't go straight in but needed to be turned sideways. They didn't like that and wanted me to check it. I held my ground and they moved on. So, if I had problems and my bag is inches smaller I certainly wouldn't be hopeful about getting it onboard Alitalia.

We experienced the same problem with the RS Carry-on Roller that Jenn of RS Europe experienced. My wife's RS Roller could not fit the overhead with the roller in the wheels inward orientation. I had to rotate the bag using up more overhead compartment length. On contrast my RS Classic fit bottom in even though it is spec'd to be 21, an inch longer. The different must be the flexibility of the Classic allows it to better conform to the compartment geometry. And we were on an American air carrier.

I have not flown Alitalia but on a 2012 trip to France, via Air France, we were forced to gate check 21 x 14 x 9 roller bags. I mentioned they measured the posted carry-on dimensions but they didn't care. They were not sizing any luggage in a box, just eyeing the bags and telling people they needed to gate check. On last year's trip we just checked the bags. I am now considering the same size bags in a convertible configuration but wondering if people are actually having any better luck carrying them on. As the others have said, I would be prepared to move some needed items into a smaller carry-on and check your bag. I think you are going to have a problem. Our flights were also out of boston.

Most of my flights are on regional jets and/or very full planes, and it seems like the default setting for the (usually Delta) gate agents in those conditions is that if it's got wheels, it must be checked or gate checked while my cross body pacsafe bag, which is the same size or bigger than the wheelies ordered into the belly of the beast, gets waved right through by the GAs with a 'there's plenty of space for that'.

Thanks to you and all others who replied. Much appreciated!!