MrX

Most airline's policies are extremely vague on their websites. The FAA has asked that each airline put together specific policies for dealing with carry-on, so I'm wondering where how I can get a copy of these detailed policies.

I'm specifically interested in their definitions of a "musical instrument" and "unusual or fragile items".
See: https://www.transportation.gov/sites...nal%20rule.pdf

Yoshi212

What kind of policies are you looking for?

United: https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/tra...eCarry-On.aspx
Delta: https://www.delta.com/content/www/en.../carry-on.html
American: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...on-baggage.jsp
JetBlue: JetBlue Help Bad Input on Previous Form)
SouthWest: https://www.southwest.com/html/custo...age/index.html

For example: "You may carry a violin, guitar or other small musical instrument on board as part of your carry-on baggage allowance as long as the instrument is pl​aced in a hard case and there is space in the overhead bins or under the seat in front of you when you board the aircraft."

Seems less than vague.

MrX

Thank you for your reply. They are indeed very vague on their policies.

As I said earlier, I would like to know specifically what are their definitions of the terms "small musical instrument" and "unusual or fragile items". What about other fragile items that cannot be safely checked?

If I have delicate electronic equipment that's used to make music, is it included? What about other electronic equipment that's too delicate to check?

TSA suggests always taking fragile items as carry-on, but I can find nothing in the airline policies that specifically speak to this.

Yoshi212

Email the airline to get a definitive answer on your specific items.

Small music instrument seems less vague when put next to the violin & guitar examples and the requirements of being in a case that fits under the seat or in the overhead bin. Instruments such as a cello or a standard sized keyboard do not qualify as they do not fit the requirements and space requiring one to purchase its own seat for the instrument. A Theremin would be considered an instrument but would have to satisfy the other requirements.

Delicate and fragile have to satisfy the carryon policies. You can't bring a standard checked baggage bag on the plane just because you're traveling with fragile goods. For example; No wine bottles that are not purchased within the secure area as it doesn't fit the carryon policies.

Often1

The premise that the policies of at least the North American major carriers are in any way vague is simply false. Once you accept a false premise, you are then chasing something which does not need to be chased.

The policies are easily located on each carrier's website and those serving the US meet DOT (not FAA) muster.

If OP has a specific concern, he should raise that specific concern.

Efrem

Is a clarinet a "small" musical instrument? If it is a wood clarinet that comes apart into small sections and is carried in a case sized to those sections, it almost certainly is. if it's a metal band clarinet that is made in a single piece and requires a case 2-3 times as long, it might not be. (Actually, that probably would be too, but I can't think of a better example right now so let's say it's a really large clarinet.) So, assuming one kind of clarinet is "small" and another isn't, what is an airline supposed to say? Or what if the metal clarinet in its case fits in the overhead bins of some aircraft, but not others, or under the seat in domestic first class but not domestic economy? You are asking for an incredible, indeed an impossible, amount of detail in terms of possible combinations of instruments, aircraft, and seats - most of which will never be needed in practice, but all of which would have to be calculated if the airline's web site were to have enough information to satisfy what you seem to want.

I think you can assume that a harmonica is small, a piccolo probably is, and a piano is not. In between, ask the specific airline about the specific flight when you have that information.

LondonElite

Um, common sense?

Yoshi212

Sadly this is less and less common these days. I still feel the OP is making a mountain out of a molehill issue.