Some of you seem to be missing the point of that lovely experience. My professional gear has ALWAYS gone on board with me. It not only hasn’t been a problem in the past, but in three of the four legs of that Alaska trip it wasn’t an issue. The issue was the beyatch Alaska agent at the Burbank counter. She not only didn’t know her own airline’s rules (or refused to acknowledge them), she intentionally created a hassle where there wasn’t one. Further, I’m not one of those overhead jammers. I hate those people. The combined size of my camera bag AND the small box of glassware was smaller than the average carry-on bag! While my guitar will fit in the overhead, it usually goes in the small closet between the First and Cabin sections.

Once again, this was a case of a rude, intractable Alaska agent proving what a POS she could be. Great “customer service.”