Seems the United employee refused to listen to the airline customer when she asks for alternative options and when she opted to leave to find alternative accommodations elsewhere, the employee tried to wrestle her violin away from her…despite it being her rightful property.
Seems like some United employees still act like they’re on power trips even in areas where they’re clearly not entitled and past history of not accommodating musicians’ needs.
Also, it’s interesting that the article cites a Federal Law requiring airlines to accommodate musicians carrying instruments on planes:
between airline employees the tsa and other passengers… flying is an anxiety inducing pain. it will not improve, there are so few airlines still in service and many routes 1 airlines as a monopoly or near monopoly. there is no push back against the TSA nonsense because so many people think the tsa is actually keeping them “safe” and the passengers seem to be skewing towards nasty more and more.
A violin case can easily fit under the seats of airplanes, much better than most ESAs. It looks like this incident happened a week ago. I wonder what resolution there has been, if any.
Here’s a case where a passenger was kicked off the United flight with her violin in 2016.
Thank you, Himom! That used to be a big issue whenever my kid flew with her century old violin. Some blockheads insisted it didn’t fit in the metal rectangle sized for carryons and wouldn’t let her board. She somehow talked it out and got to board with her violin. You never know going how it will turn out.
Experienced violin carrying traveler here. Adult kids also in the business.
This is a potential nightmare every time I enter a plane with an instrument. I always board early, paying for the privilege when necessary. No tight connections. The overall dimensions of violin cases meets the overhead bin requirements. The problem that we encounter is that the case is longer than a roll-aboard and can’t be crammed into a space meant for one suitcase. Seat sizes have shrunk enough that I can rarely fit the instrument under a seat. Sometimes this is possible when traveling with a family member so we have double the under seat space, but not to be counted on - too many variations in on-flight entertainment boxes housed under the seats, different seat support structure, etc. I have encountered overhead bins on a commuter airline that won’t take a viola case (slightly larger than a violin). I don’t fly commuters any more.
Don’t suggest Seat guru or researching the model of the plane being booked. Too many switches last minute on the part of airlines to count 100% on getting the space you think you booked.
I have also been hassled when flying Business Class with a full bin assigned just to me. Didn’t help to show the ticket.
If you want more personal stories, re-post this in the Music section. Every violinist will have their own story, or someone else’s.
This topic seriously upsets me. Leaving later this week with an instrument. I’m going off to the Fitness Center to calm down!
like I have always said just fly on a private jet, makes travel less stressful. no security no lines, and you can use secondary airports often times closer to your destination. now if it only did not cost so much $$$!!
@Momofadult Do you ever have issues with other passengers trying to crush your violin with their luggage? I frequently see people pushing, whacking, cramming, and otherwise abusing other people’s things while attempting to force-fit their own things into an already-full overhead bin.
I’ve also frequently seen other people objecting to said process, “Hey, don’t crush my bag I have electronics in there!” I would definitely cringe if I had anything fragile up there.
@anomander, thanks for asking! Thank goodness, this hasn’t happened to me, but I have also seen the crammers at work. I’ve also seen a passenger remove someone else’s bag, put his in, and then hand the other passenger’s bag to a FA saying, “no room”! This one was caught.
The violin case is hard (no give) and I place it in the back of the bin. It blocks any large item like roll-aboards that another passenger tries to shove in. Smaller items, purses, jackets, shopping bags, small back packs, etc. can sit in front of the instrument easily and don’t concern me.
If the bin is small, I will sometimes close it immediately after putting the instrument in. People generally pass by the closed bins.
I would be happy to pay for overhead bin space and wish they would go to free checked baggage with the overheads charged.
I saw almost the opposite of this recently. There was a roller board sticking out and preventing the bin from closing. A flight attendant called out several times for the owner to claim and move their bag, eventually getting to the point where she was saying the plane couldn’t depart until the bag was moved.
Some random passenger finally got up, called out, “I don’t know whose bag this is but I’m moving it” and took it further back in the plane to an empty bin. He got a round of applause from everybody. And still nobody claimed to be the owner!
So, Un-Tied, er ah…United Airlines, is at it again. I won’t re-tell our group of parents’ tale of woe with Un-Tied Airlines when we met at the service desk while trying to get to Freshman orientation, but one of the parents that day was a professional corporate human resources consultant. He and I email one another every now and then and he has said that the poor attitude at United clearly comes from the top management, giving the message to the folks down the chain that there will be no repercussions for the shabby treatment of customers if it saves the company a buck or two. The ghost of Continental Chairman Frank Lorenzo, like Jacob Marley, remains trapped on earth, terrorizing United passengers. Actually, Lorenzo is not dead, but believe me, his mean spirit lives on at United Airlines, which merged with Continental years ago.
For anyone flying with an instrument, antique or not, please bring a printed out copy of your FAA rights to store your instrument in the cabin. Too many employees are not informed this or choose to forget.
^^^^ Sadly, this rarely effective. Employees don’t care. I suspect you are as likely as not to be cited as being a risk if you got in an argument/discussion with an employee and denied boarding totally. I know at least one person to whom this has happened.
Airlines generally have disclaimers that the instrument will be denied if the bins are full. Last January I was flying business class with elite status and must have encountered a new employee. I got the whole lecture on the policy.
Are there other, better airlines with a better corporate culture? We’ve mostly been flying United because it tends to have the best connections to the places we are flying, including the only nonstops HNL-IAD.
I’d be happy to patronize an airline with a GOOD corporate culture but haven’t yet found any.
