Cabin Clef

Where are you right now?

41 airlines · checked 10 Nov 2026

Planning a flight

Airline

Green yes · yellow maybe · blue needs its own seat · red not in the cabin.

Before you leave for the airport

Measure the case and weigh it packed. Staff measure the case, never the instrument.
Check the fare. The cheapest fares often include only an under-seat bag.
Check who operates each leg. The operating airline's rule applies.
A seat for the instrument is booked by phone, often 48 hours or more ahead.
Photograph the instrument and case before you leave home.
Board as early as you can.

What did they say?

They said no

Keep it with you

Stay friendly, calm and cooperative. Agents help people they like. Getting defensive is the fastest way to lose.

Ask once for a supervisorDon't fight for names or badge numbers. Flight, gate and time identify the staff.
Offer a way to keep it in the cabin
Ask for the next flight, free"Your policy allows this. Please rebook me on the next flight with space, at no charge, and note the refusal on my booking."

Don't hand it over, and don't argue on the aircraft. You win this in writing.

Saved for you

TimeDateAirline

Without checking it

Your options

Before you walk away from the gate. If you simply don't board, most airlines' terms let them cancel every later flight on the booking, including your return, often with little or no refund. Get the agent to rebook or refund you first, and to note the refusal on your booking.

Negotiate the next flight

How you ask matters more than what you cite. Be friendly, calm and cooperative, and make it easy for the agent to help you: "I know this isn't your decision. What can we do?" This works far more often than arguing.

"Your published policy allows this instrument in the cabin. I am not refusing to travel. Please rebook me on the next available flight at no charge, and note on my booking that I was refused."

Ask for no change fee and no fare difference.
Ask for a confirmed seat, not standby, and early boarding on the new flight.
If it means an overnight stay, ask for a hotel and meals. It is not guaranteed, so ask.
If the gate agent cannot do it, ask for a supervisor or the customer service desk, and phone the airline while you stand there. Phone agents can often rebook.
Last resort: escalate firmly at the gate. Insisting on a supervisor and saying you will complain in writing sometimes works when nothing else has. Stay polite while you do it, and never take it onto the aircraft.

Canada and the US: compensation rules cover overbooked flights, so a free rebooking here is a negotiation, backed by the airline's own policy. Europe and the UK: denied boarding is not limited to overbooking. If you are refused travel without reasonable grounds, you may have rebooking and compensation rights. Whether a refusal over an instrument counts is untested, and airlines may say it was a safety matter. Note what was said, and claim afterwards.

Buy it a seat on this flight

Switch to an airline that says yes

A new ticket is your cost up front. Keep the receipt and claim it in your letter.

Go another way

Trains and buses rarely restrict a violin, viola or cello.

Trains, buses and ferries Car rental A hotel for tonight

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Borrow an instrument there

Call the presenter or orchestra now and say you may be late. A colleague, a local luthier or the hall can often lend an instrument for a rehearsal while yours follows with you.

Checking it is the last resort

Most professionals never check a violin, viola or cello. Consider it only with a flight case and insurance, checked at the aircraft door and returned at the door. Photograph it and loosen the strings first.

What did they do?

Photos

Photograph the instrument, the case, the bag tag and your boarding pass. Photos stay on this device.

Saved on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Your letter is ready

What happens next

Send it to the airlineKeep proof you sent itNow

Wait for their replyUp to 30 days

Go to the regulatorUse the regulator complaint aboveIf needed

Good to know

What the law gives you

United States. Under 14 CFR Part 251, US carriers must accept a violin, guitar or similar small instrument as carry-on, at no extra instrument fee, if it can be stowed safely and there is space when you board. A larger instrument can travel in a seat you buy for it, up to 165 lb or the aircraft's limit, if the airline's safety rules allow seat stowage. This rule covers US airlines only. Space is not reserved for you.
Canada. Section 24 of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations says an airline must accept musical instruments, unless its general size, weight or safety terms rule that out. Each airline must publish its instrument terms in its tariff. The tariff binds the airline, so rules differ by carrier.
Europe, today. There is no common rule. Each airline sets its own policy.
Europe, from 23 October 2027. A new EU law, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, says airlines licensed in the EU must accept an instrument in the cabin if it can be stowed safely in a bin or under a seat. It counts as your hand baggage allowance. If it is too large, the airline may carry it on a second seat for a second fare, without certain taxes and charges, in the window seat beside you. The law does not clearly oblige the airline to offer that seat, and sets no size in centimetres, so airline limits still matter. It does not cover UK or Swiss airlines.
Asia and the Gulf. There is no common rule. Each airline sets its own policy.

If it has to go in the hold

Avoid the hold whenever you can. Most professionals never check a violin, viola or cello. If there is truly no other way, use a hard-shell or flight case. Nearly every airline asks for one, and several refuse liability without it.

Thomann Sweetwater

Airline liability for checked baggage is capped far below the value of a professional instrument. Specialist insurance covers transit.

Anderson Group Huntington T. Block

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Incidents other musicians have reported

Has this happened to you?

Add yourself in one tap. Only the airline, your instrument type, what happened and this month are recorded. No names.

Airline

What musicians have reported

Counted by airline. Reports are not verified.

Loading the public record.

Can I film or record staff?

The rules differ by country and airport, so do not rely on it. Notes you write at the time are safe to make anywhere and are useful evidence.

Independent guide. Not legal advice, and not affiliated with any airline. Policies change, and the airline's own page is the authority.