Funky Music Tip #8 - You Can Carry Your Instrument On The Plane Because It’s the Law

We as musicians know full well the trials and tribulations of flying with our instruments especially if you have a mid to large size instrument.  If you had to check your precious cargo while boarding you can’t help but have those nagging thoughts about what’s going on with your instrument in baggage claim.  Are they tossing it around like a rag doll or jumping on it like the gorilla in the commercial?

Well I just came across this blog post on Facebook that gives new hope to us musicians.  Apparently on February 14^th 2012, President Obama signed into law in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 section 41724 on page 74 that:

 "An air carrier providing air transportation shall permit a passenger to carry a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument in the aircraft cabin, without charging the passenger a fee in addition to any standard fee that carrier may require for comparable carry-on baggage”

The instrument must be stowed safely and there must be enough available space, but if you check in early you should not have any problems.

I would print out the statement and have it with you so you can show the airline attendants that it is the law and they must comply.

So the next time you go to the airport for your next gig, you can thank the AFM (American Federation of Musicians) for lobbying those many years to get that language into the bill.  

I would like to thank the blog Ari’s Take for posting this information.  You can check out his blog here:  Ari's Take

Image courtesy of digitalart/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net