American Airlines Just Made It Easier To Fly With An Instrument

I’m a big fan of American Airlines and now fly it exclusively. Part of that is because I’m pretty high up on their loyalty platform since I fly so much these days, and I really love their lounges. The other part of that they’re usually on-time and there are few hassles. Although I no longer fly with instruments, I remember what a hassle it was, but American has taken a big step forward there as well, eliminating the large oversize bag fee that it charged.

Carry-On Gear

Here’s how it works. If you choose to carry your instrument on board, it’s no problem as long as it can fit in the overhead bin (and there’s room left) and has a maximum weight of 100 pounds.

If that doesn’t work, then you can buy a seat for the instrument, and you get a bit more leeway as now the weight restrictions go up to 165 pounds.

Checked Gear

But let’s say your instrument or audio gear are packed in hard cases and are to be checked. Anyone who’s tried this before knows that you don’t just get charged for the extra bag, but have to pay an oversize charge as well.

This is what American has eliminated, so you just pay the extra bag fee. American gave the scenario of previously charging $150 as an oversize charge now being knocked down to just a $30 extra bag fee.

Other Considerations

There may be a problem if you’re trying to check something unusually large as a tympani however. The typical airplane cargo hold isn’t that large so the max size is 25in high x 40in wide/63cm high x 101cm wide. The airline also won’t accept an instrument without a hard case, or if the case has any visible damage to it.

You can read more about it on the American Airlines baggage page, but the fact of the matter is that at least the company is cognizant of musical gear these days and you won’t be charged extra.

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