I just thought I'd take a few minutes to talk about my recent experience flying on southwest with my miraphone m5050 in its hard case.
I recently took a trip to Connecticut for a work conference, and as I had a concert immediately on my return, I opted to take my horn so I could be ready to go.
I decided basically immediately that I would not check my horn, and as such, I purchased an extra seat for it. I was able to expense my own ticket, so I was only out of pocket for the horn. This made it a little less painful. SW policy dictates that you may buy a seat at no more than the child's fare, though it ended up costing about $600 round trip.
My trip included 4 legs; Milwaukee to Baltimore, and then Baltimore to Hartford, CT.
Since the process wasn't particularly clear after my conversation with SW staff on the phone, I made sure to arrive early to the airport. Once I talked to a ticketing agent, it was smooth sailing. Bottom line, they give you an "extra seat" coupon that enables you to pre-board, and you're all set.
Going through security was easy, as my case just barely fit through the x-ray machine. People referred to it as the "infamous french horn", "a trumpet", and "a tuba". I'll take the latter.
Once I arrived at the gate, I let the gate agent know I was their extra seat, and asked whether they needed anything particular from me.
In terms of boarding procedure, there are technically only 2 seats on the aircraft this thing can sit in. The window seat in row one on either side of the aircraft. On two of my flights, the staff cared about this, and on two of them, they didn't, but if you take this route, be prepared to pre-board and make sure you get one of those seats. After I buckled my case in (with a seat belt extender), I was set to go. There were a few questions from passengers asking if it was a paid seat when everyone was trying to make sure they had a seat, but otherwise, it was all smooth sailing.
All in all, this was a pretty easy process, and likely is what I'll do again if I travel with my horn.
Mike