Icelandic Air carry on luggage

I don't know how things work today, but I'll tell you what happened to me when I flew Icelandair in 2005. I have a 22" wheeled bag. The person at the counter at the Minneapolis airport glanced at it and told me I would have to check it. I thought that perhaps the agent had been notified that the overhead bins were full. However, the person behind me had a bag virtually identical to mine and he was allowed to carry his on. The agent did not measure or weigh either bag.

I don't see the problem. A Rick Steves convertible bag is plenty big and meets the 45" size. And, 22# is more than anyone needs (I've never left the US with a carry-on bag weighing more than 17#. I haven't flow Icelandic Air, but I have had my bag weighed by Lufthansa on two occasions. Icelandic Air might not weigh or measure your bag, but they CAN, and if it's oversize or overweight, you'd have no option but to check it, so just stay within regulation.

This is only one data point, but my parents were required to check their "typical" roll aboards last summer on Iceland Air. They were the correct size, but they said the agent was just checking all the rollies unless they were absolutely tiny.

This is a general comment and not specific to Iceland Air ... If your bag will not fit under the seat in front of you, there is no guarantee that you can carry it on. Very few planes have enough room in the overheads to fit a maximum legal-sized rollaboard for every single passenger. I've traveled pretty regularly for the last several years with a 21" rollaboard. Sometimes, I have had to gate check my bag even though it was of allowable size. This has typically happened when I am in the last boarding group and the overhead bins have filled up. I have not had this happen to me on an international flight (probably because the first bag is still free to check on international), but this happens very frequently on domestic travel where the airlines have a surcharge for checked bags and everyone carries on. The only thing you can really do about this is pack defensively. If you have items that you absolutely must have with you (e.g. meds) or valuable electronics, put them where you can easily pull them out if you are forced to check at the gate.

Be aware that Icelandair changed their carry-on rules a little over three months ago. They are now more lenient. The old rules had a much lower weight limit. (13 lbs) Anyone's experience prior to that is under the old rules. Icelandair has an all 757 fleet. That's 3 x 3 seating. Not enough room in the overheads for all bags especially if there are a lot of rollers.

Thank you all for the help, very useful information!