Watch out Flying Southwest

[anightintunisia]

Source for that? As an experienced frequent flyer with status on multiple airlines, as well as several friends and relatives who are airline employees, I don't think that's correct in the USA. They can't ask for disability details, but they can ask if you need assistance, a wheelchair, etc... If you simply ask to board early and state that you need to store an instrument in the overhead or closet, they very well may grant your wish, but they can certainly ask why.

As an example, American now kicks people out of line if the ticket is scanned and your group has not yet been called.

You simply go to the gate agent, state that you need extra time to board, and they will re-print you a ticket with XT on it. They may ask, but you don’t need to disclose to them.

This applies only to Southwest, I can’t speak for other airlines.

 

[silky smoove]

They may ask, but you don’t need to disclose to them.

Right, but they may also not allow you the privilege of boarding early if they deem there's no reason for you to do so. It's worth a shot, but it's in no way a guarantee, and not offering any form of disclosure may hurt your chances of getting an early boarding.

 

[anightintunisia]

Right, but they may also not allow you the privilege of boarding early if they deem there's no reason for you to do so. It's worth a shot, but it's in no way a guarantee, and not offering any form of disclosure may hurt your chances of getting an early boarding.

Agreed. It’s on my last resort list of things to do to ensure my instrument makes it on board, but I’ve only ever had to do it once with SW. Being A-list and boarding with A group is usually enough, but occasionally the gate agent will tell you “there’s no room on board for that”... Often before boarding has even started…

In that scenario you play along, take the ‘pink tag’ for you bass, walk down the ramp, and just walk right onto the plane and stow your instrument. I can’t count enough times throughout that years that scenario has played out.

The inconsistency is unfortunate, and it often boils down to one sour airline / TSA employee. The best thing is to go in with a friendly face and attitude, de-escalate if need be, and have some tip money ready to go.

 

[silky smoove]

but occasionally the gate agent will tell you “there’s no room on board for that”... Often before boarding has even started…

The inconsistency is unfortunate, and it often boils down to one sour airline / TSA employee.

100% on both of these points, both of which are at least part of what lead to me using a Gruv Gear Bass Kapsule and just checking whenever I'm booked on a fly date. I usually do a handful of fly dates each year and thus far I've had zero issues checking. Hopefully that winning streak continues.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Right, but they may also not allow you the privilege of boarding early if they deem there's no reason for you to do so. It's worth a shot, but it's in no way a guarantee, and not offering any form of disclosure may hurt your chances of getting an early boarding.

Exactly. There's no law stating they can't ask why, that's completely made up. "Because I want to, or I don't have to tell you why" is not a disability and pretending to need to board early for fake physical reasons, or simply trying to walk onto the plane before it's your turn is pretty lame and possibly bad juju. Gate agents call those folks "gate lice".

Airline employees, especially gate agents and flight attendants, take an incredible amount of unnecessary abuse from the general public, so being nice, not drunk, and being reasonable can get you far further than demanding special treatment because you incorrectly believe you're entitled to it.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

but occasionally the gate agent will tell you “there’s no room on board for that”... Often before boarding has even started…

Super common on regional jets (types that start with CRJ, ERJ, etc...) and they aren't lying.

If they start handing out gate check tags to most people for their roller bags before boarding, a bass isn't going to fit upstairs.

 

[PNW Tony]

Here's a bass-carrying trip report from last week. I didn't fly on Southwest, but it might still be useful to know. I flew from Portland, OR outward on Delta and from Michigan back on United. Had OK aisle seats reserved going both ways. I brought a P-Bass in a Mono Vertigo bag plus one other carry-on bag. When I fly, I put a 1-1/2" piece of PVC pipe in the Mono bag alongside the bass to give some support against accidental neck stress. You can see this in the pictures, though I usually add some protective padding around it when I actually go. I often get asked about this pipe when the bag goes through security, but they usually nod and say, 'Oh, right' after I explain. On the outgoing Delta flight, I asked the flight attendant if they had a safe place I could stash it. They said sure and put it into their coat closet up front. They had it out and ready for me when I was leaving the plane. On the return flight with United, I asked the same question. The flight attendant, thinking it was a guitar, smiled and asked if I was going to play for everyone. I jokingly said 'Sure, I'll stand up front and play for a while.' She then asked me to stand to the side for a minute and went to the counter to get me a new boarding pass for seat 1B in first class in the first row, then let me put my bass and other bag into the overhead bin. I was the first person off the plane upon arrival, and of course nobody asked me to solo. By the way, both flights were full. I would've been fine if they wanted to gate check my bag, but luckily didn't need to. There's no useful lesson here except maybe to be polite and not demanding and nice things might happen.

 

[sunbeast]

I haven't flown with it yet, but one of the reasons I have held on to my Ibanez EHB headless bass is that it is a long-scale bass (actually multi-scale, with 35" B string) that fits into a guitar case. Aesthetically it might not fit your needs, but practicality-wise it a huge plus IMO, not to mention mine is a 6-string bass that weighs less than 8 pounds. In the past I've been able to gate-check basses in heavy-duty gig bags multiple times, but it seems like the trend in general is turning against us in that regard.

 

[PNW Tony]

I haven't flown with it yet, but one of the reasons I have held on to my Ibanez EHB headless bass is that it is a long-scale bass (actually multi-scale, with 35" B string) that fits into a guitar case. Aesthetically it might not fit your needs, but practicality-wise it a huge plus IMO, not to mention mine is a 6-string bass that weighs less than 8 pounds. In the past I've been able to gate-check basses in heavy-duty gig bags multiple times, but it seems like the trend in general is turning against us in that regard.

I've actually been eyeballing some headless basses recently and kid myself it'll make a big enough difference when I travel. Don't really need one, but shiny new object....

 

[One_Dude]

I have flown a number of times with my mandolin which will fit in the overhead. Never flown with a bass, but always get questions from the other passengers when they see my mandolin case, especially when flying in to Las Vegas.

Thump on,

One_dude

 

[Michedelic]

I have too much time on my hands, so I did a deep dig on the Southwest site. Looks like they waive the size limitations for various sports equipment, but not for musical instruments.

We get no respect.

Tell ‘em it’s a hockey stick.