I'm committed to go carry-on only for our upcoming trip to Italy. We're flying British Airways LAX to Rome and I was planning to use my old-style Eagle Creek Tarmac 22. Changing planes at Heathrow. I've used this bag as a carry on for domestic travel with no problem, but haven't yet tried internationally. I've read a lot of comments by carry-on travelers indicating they'd never go larger than a 21" bag. If there's a good chance I'd be asked to check it, I'd borrow or purchase a smaller bag.

Anyone have this particular bag and use internationally as a carry-on? Am I making myself crazy over nothing?

Use a tape measure of a long ruler to measure it yourself. Honestly. Including wheels and handles. If it's within 22"x 14"x9", you won't have any problem anywhere. Larger than that, then it depends on airport, airline, aircraft and your luck.

Have not used this bag, but BA is the most liberal of the European carriers when it comes to carry-ons, so you should be okay.

Generally my experience with British Airways is that they don't care about weight, but they might ask you to put your bag in the sizing template. I saw people being asked to do this on my flight to India. But generally a 22-inch bag exceeds the size requirements for BA, so as rkkwan says it's a matter of luck and whether they are enforcing the restrictions or not.

Thanks everyone. I've decided to play it safe and am purchasing a 20" bag. (21" including wheels)