A musician traveling with her cello claims she was removed from an American Airlines flight despite purchasing a ticket for the instrument. Musician Jingjing Hu, a student at the DePaul University School of Music, boarded American Airlines flight 2457 from Miami International Airport heading back to Chicago on Thursday when flight attendants told her "the aircraft is too small for the cello" her husband, Jay Tang, wrote on Facebook. Tang said he purchased the tickets on April 2, and asked an American Airlines representative if he could buy a ticket for Hu's cello. He said the representative said it was "absolutely allowed" and she would not have an issue flying with the instrument. Tang said his wife flew from Chicago to Miami without any confrontation. "She [was] traveling with her cello in a hard case as a cabin baggage. I purchased two round-trip tickets for her and her cello on April 2 on the phone directly from AA and told them specifically that one ticket is for the cello as cabin baggage," Tang wrote. "I was told it is absolutely allowed and she won't have any problem. She flew from Chicago to Miami on American Airlines 335 on Jun. 19 without any problem." Hu told WMAQ-TV that she was cleared by security and an American Airlines representative on Thursday to board the plane, and was even given a strap by a flight attendant for her cello to safely secure the instrument for the flight. Hu told the news station that her cello only weighs 10 pounds and was still removed from the flight. Tang claims a friend that was traveling with Hu said after she deplaned, the remaining seats were given to two other passengers. He alleged that Hu was removed from the flight because it was overbooked. "So basically you either have to be rich to purchase the tickets, or just settle in Miami. I don't know how are musicians supposed to travel to comply with those 'regulations,' but clearly AA is just playing around with customers," Tang wrote. "They just kick off passengers when they oversell their tickets using FAA regulations as an excuse." The U.S. Department of Transportation states that "many airlines will allow you to purchase an adjoining seat for your instrument," and while a weight limit may apply, the department advises musicians to call the airline before booking a flight to see if they can accommodate the musical instrument. Newsweek has reached out to American Airlines for comment but did not hear back in time for publication. Famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma has experienced his fair share of flying difficulties with his prized instrument. During an interview with The New York Times, Ma explains to the flight attendant that he's flown with his cello "a thousand times" and does not need to put it into baggage claim. "The rules are either not uniform enough or the people on the planes don't know them in the first place. You get different reactions when you say how many times you have done it before," he told The New York Times. "Sometimes they back off. Sometimes they get furious."<doc-sep>American Airlines kicked a musician off a flight from Miami to Chicago last week, saying her cello did not meet seat-size requirements for the plane. The Chicago-based musician's husband said they purchased tickets for both her and her cello after being assured by the airline that she would be able to fly with it. American Airlines released a statement blaming the incident on a "miscommunication." American Airlines kicked a musician and her $30,000 cello off a flight even though she had purchased a seat for the instrument. The incident occurred on Thursday on American Airlines Flight 2457 from Miami to Chicago. Jingjing Hu, a DePaul University music student, had flown to Miami for a music festival. Her husband, Jay Tang, said in a Facebook post that when they bought tickets for both her and her cello, they were assured by the airline that the cello would be allowed on Hu's departing and returning flights. In an interview with NBC5 Chicago, Hu said, "We always buy an extra ticket for our cello so that we can carry our cello on the plane," adding that it is worth $30,000. Nothing appeared to be problematic on Hu's first leg of the trip, she said. "When I flew from Chicago to Miami, I didn't have any trouble with that," she told NBC5 Chicago, adding that the crew on the Miami flight had given her a special strap to hold the large instrument. But Hu said that after boarding her flight back to Chicago, an American Airlines flight attendant told her that her instrument was too big and that the aircraft, a Boeing 737, was too small to hold it. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that "federal regulations allow musicians to carry instruments like cellos in the cabin if passengers purchase an additional seat." American Airlines' policy says that if passengers buy a seat for their instrument, it must not weigh more than 165 pounds and must meet the plane's seat-size restrictions. NBC5 Chicago reported that Hu's instrument weighed less than 10 pounds. In a statement to Business Insider, an American Airlines representative said: "A passenger on flight 2457 from Miami to Chicago was traveling with her cello. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication about whether the cello she was traveling with met the requirements to fit onboard the particular aircraft she was flying, a Boeing 737. We rebooked our passenger on a flight the next morning on a larger aircraft, a Boeing 767. We provided her a hotel and meal accommodations for the inconvenience. We apologize for the misunderstanding and customer relations has reached out to her." Tang wrote in his Facebook post that after Hu was escorted off the plane and while she was trying to find a new flight to accommodate her, she was surrounded by three police officers and told she could purchase either first-class or business-class tickets out of pocket. After staying overnight at a Holiday Inn, Hu arrived back home in Chicago, cello in tow. "I don't think we did anything wrong here," Tang told NBC5 Chicago, "and I think the way they handled it was humiliating." Tang had earlier posted a photo Hu took of the flight's captain giving her the peace sign as she was being led off the plane.<doc-sep>Chicago (CBS) — A Chicago musician traveling with her cello was removed from an American Airlines flight in Miami as she tried to return home. In a post on Facebook that has been shared more than 1,600 times, Jay Tang posted about his wife’s experience with American Airlines: “So my wife Jingjing Hu a DePaul University School of Music student, is scheduled to fly back to Chicago on American Airlines flight 2457 from Miami today She is traveling with her cello in a hard case as a cabin baggage. I purchased two round trip tickets for her and her cello on [April 2] on the phone directly from AA and told them specifically that one ticket is for the cello as cabin baggage. I was told it is [absolutely] allowed and she won’t have any problem.” “It was her first time traveling with the cello,” having its own seat Tang told CBS 2 about the trip. As immigrants from China aware of prior incidents with passengers on airplanes, Hu read articles about traveling with a musical instrument. “We read the news about how passengers are treated on American airlines. We just don’t want to get in any trouble,” Tang said. Hu had flown from Chicago to Miami days earlier without incident, her cello secured in the seat beside her. On the day of her flight home, Hu said she arrived at the gate and requested to pre-board. Hu told CBS 2, “When I asked them can I pre-board, they never told me no.” She pre-boarded, requested and received a seatbelt extender, and settled in for the trip. Hu said a flight attendant approached her before the airplane doors closed and told her she would have to leave the plane, as the aircraft was too small for the cello. After she deplaned, Hu asked to see the regulations for traveling with a cello. She said they handed her a printout indicating that “bass violins/fiddles” are not permitted on a 737. Hu said the cello is not a bass violin or fiddle. Beneath the rules about bass violins and fiddles, a section in the printout about the cello reads, “Cello must be assigned a bulkhead window seat on a non-exit row.” It goes on to state “This can be in any cabin.” There is also mention of “757 equipment.” Another passenger on the plane, Sandy Schadt said, “Flight attendants from first class came back and said she would have to deplane because the plane was too small for the cello.” Schadt said as she boarded she had not noticed the cello in the row ahead of her. After Hu was removed, Schadt says a man and a woman promptly sat in the seats previously occupied by Hu and the cello. “She was off and the next people were on,” said Schadt. After deplaning, Hu learned the next American Airlines plane to Chicago was the same size as the one she had been removed from. “When I get off the plane they said the next hour plane is not available because it’s the same size,” Hu said. American Airlines booked her on a larger plane, scheduled to leave the next day. Her experience with the hotel also proved to be problematic, according to Tang’s update: “Hours later, she was booked flight 2796 back to Chicago today, and given a room at Holiday Inn. The police officer escorted her to the shuttle bus. Once she arrived at the Holiday Inn, she was told that she was at the wrong Holiday Inn. So she had to wait for another shuttle to another Holiday Inn,” Tang posted. “I cried alone in the lobby,” Hu said. Hu spent the night in Miami. “She called me this morning and she was anxious about getting on the plane,” said Tang. Tang posted an updated upon his wife’s return to Chicago: “My wife is back home! Her luggage that arrived yesterday at ORD on the original flight was already there at the baggage claim help desk,” he wrote. “She is exhausted but physically OK. Her well being is the only thing I care [about].” Hu said she is not sure she will fly again with her cello. “Will they kick me off again? I’m so scared.” “I don’t think they handled it very well. We didn’t get any phone call from American Airlines,” Hu said. She said Tang has received messages from the company representatives on Twitter, letting him know they will take a “deep dive” into the situation. American Airlines released a statement blaming the incident on a “miscommunication.” “A passenger on flight 2457 from Miami to Chicago was traveling with her cello. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication about whether the cello she was traveling with met the requirements to fit onboard the particular aircraft she was flying, a Boeing 737,” spokeswoman Alexis Aran Coello stated in an email. “We rebooked our passenger on a flight the next morning on a larger aircraft, a Boeing 767. We provided her a hotel and meal accommodations for the inconvenience. We apologize for the misunderstanding and customer relations has reached out to her.”<doc-sep>
There's always room for cello, despite what American Airlines says. A Chicago musician who had bought a seat for her cello was forced off an American flight Thursday in Miami. Cellist Jingjing Hu's husband, Jay Tang, wrote on Facebook about the incident in a post that has been shared more than 2,400 times. Tang said he purchased two roundtrip tickets for Hu and her cello directly from American over the phone and told them specifically that one ticket is for the cello as cabin baggage. "I was told it is [absolutely] allowed and she won't have any problem," he wrote in the post. The cello is a large, delicate instrument, and Hu's cost $30,000. Checking it as baggage — even in its hard case — wasn't an option. Tang said in the post that the Chicago-to-Miami leg of the trip was uneventful — the cello was secured in the window seat beside Hu. But after she pre-boarded for the flight home and strapped in the cello with a safety belt extender that she had requested and received, the airline suddenly had a problem with the instrument. Hu said flight attendant approached her before the airplane doors closed and told her she would have to get off the plane because "the aircraft is too small for the cello," Tang wrote. The couple said that a friend traveling with Hu who stayed on the plane noted that after she got off, two people soon took the seats she had occupied. "Clearly AA is just playing around with customers," Tang wrote on Facebook. "They just kick off passengers when they oversell their tickets using FAA regulations as an excuse." MORE: Woman suing United, says she was groped on flight Hu told CBS 2 that after deplaning she asked see the regulations governing traveling on planes and received a printout indicating that "bass violins/fiddles" are not permitted on a 737. But as all symphony enthusiasts know, there's a significant difference in size between a bass violin —the largest string instrument — and a cello. CBS 2 reported that beneath the rules about bass violins and fiddles, the printout included a passage about cellos: "[A] cello must be assigned a bulkhead window seat on a non-exit row." It goes on to state "This can be in any cabin." Hu had to wait until the next day to fly from Miami because there were no more flights with planes larger than the 737. American Airlines told NBC 5 Chicago there was a "miscommunication" about whether the cello met the requirements to fit aboard the aircraft. "We apologize for the misunderstanding and customer relations will be reaching out to her," the statement read. But Tang was still fuming about the treatment of his wife. "I don't think we did anything wrong here and I think the way they handled it was humiliating," he told NBC 5. --- Read Mike Moffitt's latest stories and send him news tips at mmoffitt@sfchronicle.com. Start receiving breaking news emails on wildfires, civil emergencies, riots, national breaking news, Amber Alerts, weather emergencies, and other critical events with the SFGATE breaking news email. Click here to make sure you get the news.