Wedding Dress / Carry - on ??
 

Has anyone ever brought a wedding dress as a carry - on ?
We are flying United from LAX to New Orleans, and I am wondering
what would be the best way to bring the wedding dress without
checking it in. Do you think the airline will make special exceptions ?
If worse comes to worse, she could just wear it on the plane ..... Ha Ha

Do you or she have any status with the airline? That would help. You could call and ask whether they would assure closet space for the wedding dress (for a fee). I have seen wedding dresses carried on before. The flight staff will accommodate if possible, but lately, the flights all seem to be entirely full and people try to carry on huge amounts of stuff.

Personally, I think you would be better off having it carefully folded in layers of tissue paper and check the bag.

Kathie ... We do not have any status with United. I REALLY don't want to take a chance
and check the dress. I haven't talked with the airline yet regarding closet space.
Hopefully that will work. Thanks

My general policy is to never check anything I'm not prepared to lose. For instance my shoes as I have very hard to fit feet. And I think that would certainly include a wedding dress. I think if you put it in a dress bag for wedding dresses and are prepared to roll it to go in the overhead bin it would certainly not get any more crushed than if it were packed. And I think it likely a flight attendant would find a place to hang it.

I am sure they would. They hang up jackets in premium classes on flights so I am sure they would for a wedding dress if they have the room. It would depend on the plane as to the height of the cupboard and if your dress would hang full length. I have seen a floor to ceiling coat closest that was huge in the nose of the plane and others suitable only for clothes like jackets. Surely they would not expect you to shove it in an overhead locker... unless there were 5 wedding dresses onboard. Good luck!

Calling United will likely be frustrating and pointless - they outsource all their customer non-service to India and my personal experience and that of others reported here consistently finds they are clueless about anything other than what is on their prepared script.

Wedding dresses can be packed flat/boxed - and many are shipped that way to stores. What about asking the place you bought the dress if they can help accomodate that, and perhaps even contact a dress store at destination to see if they would then, for a fee, dewrinkle/steam - whatever they do to dresses when they arrive.

Then put it in the overhead bin. That might even be safer than it getting crushed, soiled, ripped, stuck in door of coat closet on the plane anyway.

Or have the store pack it and ship it UPS or Fedex to your hotel overnight.

I took my daughters wedding dress on a USAir flight. The Flight Attendants were extremely helpful and put the dress in one of the first class closets. However, the dress was not a big puffy one so it didn't take a lot of space.

I also wouldn't check it. The entire flight, I would be stressed wondering if I'll see it again.

I think the suggestion of finding a place where you arrive to deal with the steaming/getting wrinkles out is the best suggestion!

FYI

If you are flying direct it woud be on an A319 or 320, very small planes where First Class passengers often commandeer the closet space which is limited. I would ship it via FedEx to your destination.

How big's the dress?

As a flight attendant, I would say ship the dress. There are very few closets these days on most flights and if there is one they usually can only accomodate a few suit coats and our demo life vests. Wedding dresses are a royal pain for everyone as there is no overhead space for the dress to lay flat.Pack and ship it so you know it gets there(with the tracking codes) in one piece.The days of closets and empty overhead bins are longgggg gone folks!

suze ... The dress & slip are "puffy" If there is a will, there is a way I guess ....

We will figure something out, but still looking for suggestions. Thanks

I think it really does depend on the dress, but I'd probably also recommend shipping it FedEx. I think that's much safer.

Thanks for the answer deedeedee.

heck everything I know about wedding dresses is from "Say Yes To The Dress" on TV (lol) but no way would those be going carry-on with you.

I think the advice to ship well in advance, insured, would be the way to go.

@deedeedee - there are no other possible realistic suggestions beyond shipping it. EVEN if oyu called United and someone at the phone line said you could carry it on, there's no guarantee the plane will have room.

I really think dutyfree has given you the most realistic answer above, and it's an answer from an insider's view.

I do have status with United because I fly them all the time and I agree with dutyfree. Forget carrying it on, especially if it is "puffy."

No matter what anyone tells you beforehand, when you get to the plane the day of the flight you are subject to the whims of fate. As a non status flyer you will be among the last to board, when overhead space is least available because it has been taken up by the passengers who boarded ahead of you. And strictly speaking, if the box holding the dress does not meet carry on standards you could be forced to gate check it. Do you really want to have to do that? If it is important to you that the dress absolutely be there in NO, ship it in a way that is trackable and requires a signature for delivery. Period. It may seem expensive at first, but it's less than the cost of buying a seat on the plane for the gown.

I agree & thank you for all of your comments. We might just by an extra seat and deal with it that way. I am sure if we purchase the ticket for the dress, there will be PLENTY of room in the closet. At least we don't need a round trip ticket & would be happy to check it in on our return.

Um, just to avoid being surprised on the day - buying an extra ticket will do nothing to assure room in the closet. It will assure an empty seat on which you can place the box holding the dress as long as you can secure it and fasten a seat belt around it.

Come to think of it, unless you are in first class there <u>isn't</u> a closet, just overhead bins. And those bins may be full if you are not among the first to board. You can improve your place in the boarding sequence by buying up to economy plus seating.

I'd still strongly recommending going with some sort of shipping.

No, I think Deedeedee is saying, "It'll be our luck that we buy the extra seat and there will be room to store the dress after all." :)

My question is: Are you even allowed to strap an inanimate object into a seat? I have my doubts. I'd hate to see you pay the money for an extra seat and then you board and have the flight attendants say, "You can't do that. We'll have to gate check it."

Really. Ship the dress. :)

The name of the dress on it's ticket will have to match the name on it's ID exactly or they won't let it on.

I'm not certain you'd be allowed to put the dress in the seat you purchased? Because "luggage" always must be stowed under the seat in front of you or in the overhead bins for take-off and landing. I'm not sure they'd let you just put your dress/package on a seat next to you.

Don't people buy a seat for musical instruments?

Thanks for All your responses...esm ..Yes, you can buy a seat for an instrument.
I thought we should just buy the seat for the dress. Can't talk to anybody on phone
that i could trust their suggestions. It's either the closet or a seat. Like I said, I am
sure if we buy the seat when we get on the plane there will be an EMPTY closet.!

deedee, I think shipping will probably be less expensive.

I would investigate this very carefully with United, and even then, I think you run the risk when you board that day of the flight crew saying "You can't do this." And there you'd be stuck gate-checking the dress.

UPS, FedEx and DHL are your best options. I once sent 2 live turtles by DHL from Pennsylvania to California. My grandson was glad to see them at his new home in California.
Some bridal shops that have nationwide stores will ship a dress from one store to another for a fee.I bought a new pair of shoes for my daughters wedding and had them shipped to her place rather than carrying them across the country.

Trying to carry-on a huge wedding dress is very risky because you don't know *for sure* exactly how it will be handled until you are boarding your flight.

If she buys a seat for the dress and the dress fits into the seat and a seatbest can fasten around it, she will know exactly how the dress will be handeled.

How does a wedding dress get packaged up anyway? Is it in a garment bag? A box? What are the dimensions? A guy is clueless about these things. :)

What about seat assignments? What if the OP and the dress don't get to "sit together"? What if the flight is oversold? The first "passenger" they're going to bump is the inanimate object.

Please report back when this is over. I'll be interested to hear how this works out.

We have made the decision to take our chances with the closet & cross our fingers that
F.A. will be able to find room in the closet for the dress. We will arrive at the airport
really early and go directly to the United counter for assistance. I think it will work out.
(I hope) Thanks for all the advice. When we return I will post our experience, good or bad ...

You've made your decision, but do you understand the pans you are flying on have VERY TINY CLOSETS???? The United Counter will not be able to help you, it will be at the gate and on the plane and if there's no room, there's no room.
I don't know why you came on here for advice, didn't take it and are doing what you want anyway that many people are telling you really, really may not work.
What will you do if they won't make room for it ?

Even if the closet is completely empty, I'm not sure a big wedding dress will even fit into it.

I think you are taking a huge risk with the plan you've decided to go ahead with.

For what it is worth, I've been on three fights recently where there wasn't any room in the closet for a piece of carry-on luggage brought on board by airlines pilot (same airline) who were deadheading. So ask yourself, if the FA's on that flight couldn't (or wouldn't) do anything to accommodate one of their own what makes you think they will help you find a place for your dress???

Agree with mztery - getting to the "United counter" won't help as the Ticketing Agents have no control over what happens in the interior of the aircraft. Gate Agents do exercise some control over the size of and number of carry-ons they will let a passenger take on board BUT where those items eventual get stowed is the purview of the Flight Attendants and they may or may not be able to free up space in the closet.

As a person who almost always flies Business or First Class (so I'm frequently in a position to see or hear the FA's as they greet passengers entering the aircraft) I can't remember the last time I saw an FA allow any passenger to put any type of bag, be it a garment bag or roll-aboard in the closet,. In fact the opposite has been true, on almost every flight the FA continually tell people THEY CANNOT put any carryon bags in the closet.

You are taking a very BIG RISK with what is perhaps the most important piece of wearing apparel you'll even need.

Obviously this is tidally your choice, deedeedee, but please re-read - <u>carefully</u> - the comments above from numerous experienced flyers and even a flight attendant, as you seem to be under the mistaken impression that a United agent at the ticket counter or gate will be able to help you get the dress aboard by, as you put it, "making a special exception." This is <b>just not how it works</b>.

Planes are very full these days, as airlines have cut down the number of flights in order to reduce costs. Passengers are carrying on more bags to avoid fees, and unless you are among the first to board (which is reserved for first class and elite status frequent flyers) space is quite often all taken. The flight attendants can't change the laws of physics to create space where there is none, especially for something as fragile as a wedding dress.

Whatever you decide, please do come back and let us know. When is the wedding?

Find one of those companies/wedding planners who organize destination weddings. They clearly deal with this exact problem every day. Ask how their brides take the gowns to Italy or Aruba or wherever they go to get married.

<<<We will arrive at the airport really early and go directly to the United counter for assistance>>>

They can't magically make the tiny closets any bigger. On the chance that they can't get the dress into the closet, do you have a backup plan or will you be at the airport trying to figure out what to do? Figure out your backup plan NOW, so that you're not panicking if the closet isn't magically huge and empty. Even if the dress does fit into the closet, that still doesn't guarantee that it won't get caught in the foldy doors and possibly torn.

How many pieces is the dress in (a bodice separate from the skirt or attached, poof attached or as a separate under-skirt/slip, etc)? If it can be disassembled in any way then why not split it between your two carryons, take a steamer and hang/steam it when you get to your destination?

The store you purchased it from should be happy to help you box it flat and into a carryon size bag.

Please, please, please listen to the above advice. Think logically. How do you think the dress got to the store where you bought it or picked it up? Answer - it was delivered by road or plane - and it was not hanging up on a special hanger the entire time. It was in a box. And it can go back into a box.

I suggest you start not with the airline but with the bridal shop. Ask them how other brides get their dresses long distances. This has been done before.

Thank you for ALL your replys ... Our plan "B" is a box that we will have at the airport to use if need be. I know the plane is very small & our chances of using the closet is even smaller. The wedding is in 2 weeks & I will post our experience when we return. Thanks again ....