Marion, Hardiman convered this in another thread, I think, but what he did was carry the violin in its very professional-looking case to the door of the plane, and THEN ask the flight attendant if she preferred to handle his very expensive, fragile antique violin herself or if she preferred he stow it overhead. She was only too eager to duck responsibility by assuring him she would be perfectly happy for him to stow it overhead personally!

Not the same thing they are allowed to tell you when you do the responsible thing and call ahead to ask the ticket agent, see? At all.

Maybe this worked better because he is a man, tho it should not have mattered. But securing a male ally (I am assuming you are a female Marion), just in case, might not hurt. Just to make it easier on the flight attendant to smile that pretty, yielding smile and say, "OK!"

~Susan