Carryon Bag Not Allowed on First Leg of SAS Airlines Trip?

What airline are you flying in from San Diego to Seattle. (Hint, it's not SAS as that airline doesn't fly between San Diego and Seattle.)

It's operated by Delta

So maybe try the Delta customer service number because Delta is the operator of the flight.

Usually when I'm on those small Delta or American planes, they gate check the carry on and then you pick it up on the gangway. Because there's not room on those planes for carry on. Not saying this is what your situation will be be but that's been my experience; including last time Delta SD>LAX.

Thanks KD, this makes sense, and gives me some hope of getting my backpack in Seattle for the rest of the transatlantic journey.

I’d check your Delta flight for the leg from San Diego to Seattle and see what the rules are for bags.

Has anyone else run into this? Do I have to check my backpack at the beginning of the trip and just travel with a personal item?

Are you on a small plane? I have run into the situation where everyone has to gate check their carry-on. Delta does say the below https://www.delta.com/us/en/baggage/carry-on-baggage

How many bags may I carry on?
You may bring one carry-on item onboard the aircraft, plus one personal item. See our carry-on allowance for further information.
Passengers travelling on Delta Connection flights with 50 seats or less are permitted to carry personal items onboard the aircraft. Due to limited overhead and under seat space, larger items will be tagged with a pink Gate Claim/Planeside tag and loaded in the cargo bin. These bags will be returned to the passenger upon deplaning.

Delta uses 737s* for SAN-SEA, so plane size is not the issue.

Are you on a "Basic" ticket?

The Delta site notes that folks in 'Basic' are last to board so there may not be bin space and will have to gate check their bags (free)

• Edit -- for the random date in Sept I chose to see what sort of planes are used on the route. The a321 is same size class; Not a regional jet that has smaller bins.

The Delta flight is an Airbus A321 which carries 180-220 passengers. My ticket was booked through Scandinavian Airlines, and that's the info I have access to, so I don't have information on the equivalent Delta ticket. However, the San Diego -> Seattle leg is the only one I'm NOT able to choose my seat on. So I'm guessing it's some sort of "basic" ticket.

Thanks everyone for the input. I'll still pack my normal carry-on backpack and plan to potentially have it gate-checked on that first leg.

It sounds like it may be a larger plane. Just be very clear in understanding where your bag will be in Seattle because gate check can mean it’s going to baggage claim or as I mentioned on the small planes it gets brought up to you.

We always fly Delta when available. 6 flights in last 24 months including two local round trip US flights. 12 international round trips in the last 10 years. Never had a bag checked. Always did carryon. They have never even looked or measured our our carry-ons which are slightly over limit on size.
If you feel your backpack works on Scandinavia i would not worry about Delta.
Enjoy your trip. Next time stop and enjoy Seattle. Ride the new rail system to from Seatac to DT and the new waterfront area.

However we almost always fly Comfort+

However, the San Diego -> Seattle leg is the only one I'm NOT able to choose my seat on. So I'm guessing it's some sort of "basic" ticket.

Not necessarily. It is pretty typical that you can’t book a seat in advance on the SAS website when the flight is operated by a different carrier. There should be a PNR for the Delta leg that is different than the PNR for the SAS portion. If you got the Delta PNR, you could try going through Delta with that and see if you can choose a seat.

I'm not sure if this would apply to you or not. I fly Basic Economy on Delta/KLM/AF. I have had my bag gate checked multiple times, but when it is, it is checked thru to the final destination, not just one leg of the trip. Then I need to retrieve it at baggage claim. If the plane will be full on any one of the legs (even if not the first flight), basic economy travelers have a high chance of having their bags checked since the airline doesn't want to deal with individuals at boarding not finding a place to store their carry-on.

Hi Charlie. Every time I buy an airline ticket, I get a flight receipt emailed to me, and if I scroll down, it spells out specifically what baggage I am allowed. Did you get an emailed flight receipt? Scroll down and see if the info is there. The info on your flight receipt will take precedence over any general info in an app or website. Have a great trip!