Originally Posted by 18sas

Hi sableli- It might make you feel better to know that there are no non-stop flights between Italy and SFO on any airline currently, so you wouldn't have been able to fly non-stop anyway.

As others have mentioned, when you get to Atlanta, you will have to collect your bags and go through immigration, customs and security there. Then you will drop your bags off to be re-checked to San Francisco and then follow the monitors and signs to your gate for your flight to San Francisco.

This is despite the fact that it may look like the same flight or same plane. You've found one of the most confusing practices in the airline industry. Basically, you have two flights on a trip that Delta assigned the same flight number. In every other way, your trip is no different than any other connecting flights.

I wish they wouldn't do this but they do unfortunately.