Musician’s hand injured after United Airlines supervisor wrestles away antique violin in baggage

[xUT]

Sigh,
Musician’s hand injured after United Airlines supervisor wrestles away antique violin in baggage dispute

Federal law [URL='https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-issues-final-rule-regarding-air-travel-musical']requires

airlines to allow musicians to bring their instruments aboard as carry-on luggage, under certain conditions, but Correia said a United supervisor insisted she pay $50 to check in her violin.

“She was rude from the beginning, saying these are the rules — all you can take with you are some personal items on the plane, and the instrument is too big and it’s not going to fit,” Correia said.

The musician asked for the supervisor’s full name, and she said the employee then tried to remove the luggage tag to get Correia’s name — and then the dispute got physical.

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Oops

 

[xUT]

Maybe if everybody had a body camera, people would act differently.
I added security cameras to my business years ago, that really didn't help until I put up a notice.
I hated to believe that the threat of being video taped changed peoples behavior, but it certainly does.
Xut

 

[jimntx]

Professional musicians and their instruments have been a "special case" for as long as I can remember. There's just no excuse for something like this to happen other than poor agent training or an agent power trip.

 

[eolesen]

If it can't be secured, it doesn't go in the cabin. If the instrument is worth that much, buy a seat for it.

There's likely a lot more to the story than what "Raw Story" (one of 700UW's favorite sources) is giving out.

 

[jimntx]

There's no possible way that a violin would not fit in the overhead bin. I think the story is pretty much as related. In fact, your "buying a seat" suggestion would not work at all with a violin. It would be too small to secure. Only bass viols and cellos purchase "seats." And, they are only at bulkheads where the instruments "leg" fits against the bulkhead on the cabin floor and a seatbelt with extension is placed around the body of the instrument.

 

[eolesen]

Per Kayak, all of UA's STL-IAH flying is on RJ's, so it's entirely possible that a violin wasn't going to fit in those micro-bins. If she needed it to go in the cabin, she didn't plan very well by picking a RJ...

My first career was music education, and that's what my youngest son also seems to be tracking towards as a career, so this isn't just Googling ala WT for me.....

Instrument cases for small to medium sizes (i.e. trumpets, violins, saxaphone) have changed a lot over the years, and the gig bag style can be secured by running a seatbelt thru the outside straps. Anyone who is a professional is probably going to be using something similar to this because of the amount of gear they hold compared to the old style hardside formed/sculpted cases (which really aren't as durable in a crush test...).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BALDUO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_1kurzbMK8F36D

Violin cases are longer than you think. The case in the link above is 32" long, and they really don't get smaller... Length is dictated by the bow, and a 4/4 size bow is around 29" long, and I doubt a professional would be playing on a 3/4 size...

32" is 10" longer than a standard rollerboard for length. UA's own policy says a max 22" for length.

The pessimist in me says this is someone looking to piggyback on all of the other outrage against UA in hopes of getting their own payday.