American Airlines Sells A Ticket To A Cello

Mar 15, 2024

by Gary Leff on April 23, 2023

On April 5, two elderly passengers were removed from an American Airlines flight because the gate agent wouldn’t let them fly with their cello – even though they’d purchased a seat for the cello from the airline and flown with it on the first segment of their trip.

The passengers had flown from Palm Springs to Dallas – Fort Worth. They boarded their second flight. And a gate agent came on board and declared that they’d be unable to fly unless they either:

In Dallas an agent stopped the passenger at the boarding door, but then let them proceed onto the aircraft. Then the agent, in the passenger’s words, “came running to get me off the plane after giving me permission.” Another agent “said no again [and] suggested only cargo.”

Not wanting to wait over six hours for the next flight – American is currently serving Washington Dulles airport from Dallas only twice daily – the passengers agreed to check the cello.

An American Airlines spokesperson shares,

Customers with large carry-on musical instruments that do not meet carry-on requirements may choose to purchase an additional seat for the instrument. The requirements for these instruments are available on aa.com. Our team is reviewing this specific issue and will reach out to the customer directly.

American’s website says,

If you choose to buy an additional seat for your instrument, please note that seat bags must not weigh more than 165 lbs / 75 kg and must meet seat size restrictions based on airplane type.

While the airline doesn’t offer further details on seat size restrictions by aircraft type, I do think anyone buying travel for an instrument should at least inquire about potential problems on smaller regional jets.

Cello On Board American Airlines Airbus A321

It’s the airline’s responsibility to ask questions about instruments they’re selling tickets for, if there are potential issues. Instead, a gate agent took it upon themselves to interpret rules on the spot – after ticket purchase, after boarding pass issuance, and after passengers had flown their first flight. And then American Airlines didn’t even refund the cello’s ticket after it was denied boarding.

Department of Transportation rules explicitly require airlines to accommodate musical instruments on board and making up rules, or failing to consistently enforce instrument rules, would appear then not just to be poor customer service but a violation of federal rules.

Ultimately after I brought this issue to the airline’s attention they provided passengers with a full refund for their tickets plus a $100 trip credit per person.

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