This Guy Had No Problems Bringing His Guitar Onto A Plane… Until Now
He was asked to pay an extra charge if he wanted to board the plane.
By Samantha Khor — 11 Oct 2016, 06:02 PM
In a video posted on 10 October, a New Zealand national alleged that AirAsia's ground staff barred him from boarding his flight despite agreeing to pay $50 (RM207) to carry his guitar onto the plane
Musican John Bailey was supposed to fly to Bangkok from Ho Chi Minh City on 6 October when he was stopped at the gate and told that his guitar is not allowed on board.
"While I waited, an AirAsia staff member told me I needed to pay $50 to cabin crew once I boarded or not travel," Bailey said in the video.
Bailey agreed to pay, though he still had doubts about the additional charge. When he tried to board the plane, however, he was told that he was not allowed on the plane as he was a "danger risk".
"They’re not letting me board, and they said I’m a danger risk," he said in the video.
In an interview with SAYS, Bailey noted that he had attempted to snap a photo of the AirAsia staff member he talked to in Ho Chi Minh, but was made to "delete the video in exchange for his name and ID number written down".
He was eventually escorted back to immigration and had to buy another flight ticket for the next day, where he checked in his guitar to avoid any more problems.
Bailey told SAYS that he had carried the same guitar case to several destinations with AirAsia without any problems.
Why didn't he check it in instead? He revealed that he once had a guitar broken during transit from the same airport:
"In February 2016, I was forced to check in my guitar in Ho Chi Minh City. They broke my $1,000 Martin guitar and their insurance gave me $120. So I wasn't keen to put my guitar in this time again!"
"It seems to be only at HCMC airport. I have taken that same guitar case to at least five or six different destinations with AirAsia," he added.
Is it common for passengers to bring musical instruments on board? We spoke to some local musicians on airlines' policies in regards to carrying their guitars onto the plane:
Kelvyn Yeang, an electric guitarist from Penang who travels frequently to perform, has not encountered any problems travelling with his guitar, explaining that there should be no issues bringing it on board as long as it fits in the cabin compartment and preferably stored in a soft case.
However, Chris Yong has never hand-carried his guitar on board, preferring to check it in instead.
"Smaller instruments like violins or trumpets can be brought on the plane, but you need to buy an extra seat for guitars because it doesn't fit the dimensions allowed for cabin storage."
Meanwhile, AirAsia's website specified that while some musical instruments can be carried on board with no extra cost, those exceeding the cabin baggage dimensions require a passenger to buy an extra seat
