A Sacramento musician says Southwest Airlines forced her off a flight and later called sheriff’s deputies after she tried to travel with her acoustic guitar as a carry-on item. Once again, musical instruments prove to be the most difficult carry-on dilemma for carriers.
Southwest Airlines Passenger Says She Was Denied Boarding Over Acoustic Guitar
A Southwest Airlines passenger’s dispute over an acoustic guitar has gone viral after she says the carrier would not allow her to board with the instrument, even though she claims she has flown with it for years without incident.
The passenger, Samantha Henson, is a Sacramento-based musician who was traveling from Sacramento (SMF) to Portland (PDX) for a friend’s wedding. According to The Sacramento Bee, Henson was boarding a 6:00 pm Southwest flight when a flight attendant stopped her and told her that her guitar was too large to bring onboard as a carry-on item.
Henson then deboarded and returned to the gate. She says she was told she could try to take a later flight to Portland, but that the later flight was full and she would not be able to board with the guitar.
Later that evening, Henson attempted to board another flight. She says the earlier gate agent approached her and told her, “You’re not going to get on that flight.” Henson disputes the airline’s claim that she interfered with boarding, telling the Bee, “I wasn’t throwing punches. I wasn’t raising my voice. I just wanted to get my guitar on the plane.”
Deputies from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office were eventually called to the gate. In video posted online by Henson, a Southwest employee can be heard telling her, “You should be ashamed of yourself,” and warning that if the situation happened again that night, she might not be able to fly for another 24 hours (a timeout?).
Henson ultimately spent the night at the airport and flew to Portland early the next morning.
What Southwest’s Policy Says About Musical Instruments
Southwest’s standard carry-on size limit is 24 x 16 x 10 inches. A full-size acoustic guitar in a case exceeds those dimensions, as did Henson’s.
But Southwest’s musical instrument policy is more flexible than the standard carry-on rule. According to Southwest, if an instrument is larger than the carry-on size limit, it may still be carried onboard if it will fit in an overhead bin or under a seat and if space is available.
That language is broadly consistent with U.S. Department of Transportation rules, which require airlines to allow passengers to carry small musical instruments, including guitars, into the cabin if the instrument can be safely stowed and if space is available when the passenger boards.
The key words, of course, are if space is available.
The rule does not require airlines to give guitars priority over other carry-on bags. But if there is overhead bin space available when the passenger boards and the instrument can be safely stowed, the carrier generally must allow it onboard.
That appears to be the heart of the dispute here.
Was there space available? Was the guitar too large to fit safely or did flight attendants not even give Henson a chance to show that it fit? Did the interaction escalate because the airline applied the wrong standard, or because Henson refused a reasonable instruction?
I do not know the answer based on the video alone.
Musical Instruments: A Common Problem
I do not have a strong opinion yet about who was ultimately right or wrong here.
On the one hand, musicians do have protections when traveling with instruments. If the guitar could have fit in an overhead bin and there was space available when Henson boarded, she had a strong argument that she should have been allowed to bring it onboard. On the other hand, those protections are not unlimited. If the bins were full or if the instrument could not be safely stowed, Southwest had a legitimate reason to deny the carry-on item.
What I do find troubling is the tone of the interaction captured on video. A ground employee telling a passenger, “You should be ashamed of yourself,” is not helpful. Nor is walking away in a huff. Even if the passenger was wrong, that is not the way to de-escalate a dispute at an airport gate…I don’t have much faith in passengers, but airline employees should rise above these situations.
Practically, if the instrument absolutely cannot be checked, boarding position matters. Buying priority boarding or otherwise ensuring early access to overhead bin space may be the difference between a smooth trip and a very ugly airport standoff…but here it did not seem to matter: imagine if a flight attendant had just shrugged and let it onboard.
CONCLUSION
Samantha Henson says Southwest Airlines would not let her fly with her acoustic guitar, called sheriff’s deputies after she refused to check it, and rebooked her on an early-morning flight. Southwest’s musical instrument policy, and federal rules, generally allow guitars onboard if they can be safely stowed and if space is available when the passenger boards.
That leaves a key factual question: was space actually available, and was Henson given a fair chance to board with the guitar?
I am not ready to say who was right or wrong here. But I can say this: musical instrument rules are nuanced, and airline staff should know them. Passengers should also understand that “allowed onboard” does not mean “guaranteed onboard” if overhead bin space is gone.
As is so often the case, the truth may depend on what happened before the camera started rolling.
(Southwest) Breaks Guitars?
Not that I have any “luv” for SWA (or really any airline for that matter) a guitar probably takes up the space of at least 3 bags so I can see where the GA was coming from.
But the GA certainly could have handled it better.