BA Bans Cellist’s Instrument from Flight: It Didn’t Have a Visa

When Jane Bevan booked a seat for herself and her valuable cello on a Zürich Airport (ZRH) to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), flight she took great pains to make clear that her travel companion would be a prized musical instrument. Bevan says she not only called British Airways to confirm that everything was in order with her unique travel plans, but the 35-year-old musician also booked passage for the cello under the rather obvious name “Chuck Cello.”

It turns out that this helpful identifier would cause big problems down the road.

Although Brevan booked the tickets for herself and her cello through a third party website, she insists that the airline assured her that her travel plans were booked appropriately. “I rang BA about a month before the flight and spoke to a customer service agent in one of their call centers,” Bevan told The Independent. “They told me the second seat booked for the cello followed airline policy, that there was nothing further for me to do and I should check-in as normal.”

Unfortunately, when she arrived for her flight, the gate agent informed her that because an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) was not completed for Chuck Cello, the stringed instrument was not authorized to fly to the United States. Due to the fact that Mr. Cello is an inanimate object, it would have been quite impossible to correctly and truthfully complete the visa waiver form, but according to the airline, this adjustment was not possible to alter on the manifest and therefore both Chuck Cello and its owner were out of luck.

“This was a highly unusual incident which arose after the customer booked a seat for her cello as a named passenger, British Airways officials said in a statement. “This is what triggered the requirement for an ESTA from the US government. The ticket the customer booked through a third party website was non-refundable.”

Bevan says that British Airways told her rebooking the trip would cost her well over $4,500. She says that the airline declined to compensate her for the missed flight, but in this case it seems that United Airlines swooped in to save the day. Bevan was able to book a replacement flight departing the following day on UA for less than half the price quoted by BA.

“I had no problems with United Airlines,” she told the newspaper. “The staff were very friendly and even offered to put my cello in first class.”