Transporting wedding dress on flight

caramels03

My dress and I reside in NYC, but our wedding is in Michigan.  My fiance and I will be flying to Michigan from NYC and I am thinking the best way to transport my dress would be to hand-carry it on board.  Does anyone have experience with this or know anyone who's done this before??  I wonder if the airline will help hang my dress in one of their coat closets... or if I'll end up having the dress on my lap the entire time (which would be the less optimal solution, to say the least).

Is anyone here planning on bringing their dress onboard or have you found another mode of transportation?  I am afraid that shipping it will wreck/smush the dress.

jagore08

Call the airline and talk to them about this.  It's common that brides fly with their wedding dress and they may be able to put it in the captains closet.

I had to travel for my wedding and I called the airline about this too.  They told me that they couldn't guarantee that there would be space in the captain closet.  They told me if that's the case and there's no room in the overhead for my dress that I would have to check it at the gate.  I wasn't willing to risk it so I sent it UPS to my in-laws, insured. It arrived with no issues and my MIL had it steamed for me before I got there.

kee80

Make sure you talk to the airline beforehand!  They'll usually find space for you to store onboard.  Whatever you do, do NOT put it in the overhead bins - that's asking for it to get crushed, ripped, etc. 

Most bridal salons can advise you of the best way to ship the dress, if that's what you prefer.  Good luck!

MNVegas

Call your airline to find out what their policy is. 

Most airlines will let you carry dress on but some, like Southwest (my airline), do not have closet space and it will have to go in overhead bin. I doubt if they will let you just hold it on your lap because it would be considered carryon and would have to be stored just like any other carryon bag.

When I travelled with my dress for my first wedding many years ago, the attendant put it in overhead bin for me and made sure no one put anything on top of it. The dress was just fine and it did NOT get ripped or scrunched up. Just keep an eye on it and it should be just fine.

I plan on double bagging my dress for my ucoming Vegas wedding just to be extra safe. I'd be afraid if I checked or shipped the dress, I may never see it again.