Originally Posted by
fiddlestickies
Well intentioned but bad idea. As a musician with a violin that takes up much less space than the gigantic suitcases that are crammed in to the overheads, I can tell you that without overheads my career is over. My violin is way too fragile(and honestly, expensive) to be thrown around by baggage agents(see United Breaks Guitars on youtube for evidence) and insurance certainly won't cover it. I can relate the horror stories from my friends who have been forced to check their instruments and then find the instrument utterly destroyed.
I once traveled with M. Rostropovich on the Concorde. One seat for him and one seat for his cello. Although the Concorde was thrilling, seeing M. Rostropovich with his cello made it that much more so. I can understand wanting to protect your violin and am not suggesting you buy an extra seat. Just thought I would share a kind-of-nice memory.