New Rules For Flying With Instruments

That's not exactly what it says.


"Section 403 of the Act and this final rule provide that carriers are required to allow passengers to stow their musical instruments in an approved stowage area in the cabin only if at the time the passenger boards the aircraft such stowage space is available. With the exception of certain disability assistance devices, overhead bins or under seat stowage space is available to all passengers and crew members for their carry-on baggage on a “first come, first served” basis. Accordingly, carriers are not required to remove other passengers’ or crew members’ carry-on baggage that is already stowed in order to make space for a musical instrument. However, this also means carriers are not allowed to require a passenger to remove his or her musical instrument that is already safely stowed (e.g., in the overhead bin) to make room for carry-on baggage of other passengers who boarded the aircraft later than the passenger with the musical instrument. This is true even if the space taken by the musical instrument could accommodate one or more other carry-on items. Because the rule does not require that musical instruments be given priority over other carry-on baggage, we encourage passengers traveling with musical 6 instruments to take steps to board before as many other passengers as possible to ensure that space will be available for them to safely stow their instruments in the cabin. This includes utilizing pre-boarding opportunities that some carriers offer (usually for a fee). "

 

That's how I read it too - board early anyway you can.

 

Boarding early is often not easy. I do the best I can, but sometimes it's just not possible.

 

WOW!!

In a world population approaching billions, only 127,000 professional musicians who regularly fly for work?

 

Most of the planes I've flown on recently have overhead spaces that would be too small to accommodate an electric bass anyway.

 

Boarding a full flight early and putting something in an overhead bin that only fills 20% of its capacity but prevents the stowage of three rollon pieces that are too large to fit under seats is not going to win you any friends among the flight attendants or other passengers.

 

If I understood the article correctly, it's first come first served so if you get first dibs and get your instrument in the overhead, any room left is subject to being crammed with whatever might be forced in on top of your stuff. I can't see an electric bass in an HSC going in the overhead so that would leave a gig bag and I'm not sure I'd want hard sided briefcases, laptop cases, or whatever your (not so) friendly flight attendant or fellow passenger might stuff in after, riding on top of my bass in a soft bag.

 

That's the way I read it and that is precisely my point. Rollon cases are designed to maximize the dimensions allowed for carryon by the airline, which in turn is exactly the right size to fit into an overhead bin wheels out and fill up the linear space it occupies completely. A bass guitar in an overhead bin will take up the linear space of three or four of these bags but will only fill the bin about 20%. The rollon cases it displaces will not fit under the seats. On a full flight that is going to make some folks unhappy.

 

There is storage in some commercial aircraft that you may not see or know about. It is like a hanging closet. A bass could stand on end there. You usually have to ask the attendant to put it there for you.