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 ....