American Airlines tries to charge Mesa mom $150 to check frozen breast milk

American Airlines tried to charge a Mesa mom $150 to check a cooler of frozen breast milk at the gate, forcing the budget-conscious family to leave the eight pouches of milk behind.

Sarah Salow, 30, was traveling with her husband and 13-month-old son from Boston to Phoenix on Thursday, Dec. 7. They had purchased basic economy tickets, which limit the amount of carry-ons passengers can bring.

Salow called American before her trip to make sure the cooler and breast milk were allowed and had no trouble carrying it on — free — on the flight from Phoenix to Boston. 

Trouble at the gate

The problem started when the family boarded the flight home. Salow said the American gate agent at Boston Logan International Airport told the family they had too many carry-on bags and would need to check one. They had checked two suitcases and brought a stroller, diaper bag, backpack and the cooler to the gate.

Salow gate-checked the stroller for free and tried to board with the other three items. She said the agent told her they were allowed only two small carry-on bags since they were traveling on basic economy tickets.

Passengers who buy American's new no-frills basic economy tickets board last and are allowed to bring just one item that fits underneath the seat in front of them. Other bags must be checked at the ticket counter for the applicable bag fees ($25 for one bag and $35 for a second bag).

'Are you kidding me?'

Salow said she explained that the small cooler, which they had bought for $50 at Bass Pro Shops for the trip, was filled with frozen breast milk. The agent told her she had to check it. Salow was fine with that until the agent said the fee was $150. 

"I said, 'Are you kidding me?''' she said.

Salow said she was told to start condensing her stuff into two bags. There was no room in the backpack or diaper bag for 40 ounces of frozen breast milk.

"It's stiff,'' she said. "I can't just cram it into another bag.''

So she decided to leave it behind rather than pay $150 on top of the $50 in checked-bag fees she had already paid. It's unclear how the $150 fee was calculated. An extra checked bag should have been $35 plus a $25 gate surcharge for basic economy passengers.

Salow said the agents yelled at her, saying she should be thankful they saved her $150. She said she boarded the plane humiliated and hysterical. When she saw plenty of room for bags on the plane, she said she asked a flight attendant if she could retrieve the cooler. She said she was told the supervisor said no. Another passenger in line offered to carry on the cooler as part of their baggage allowance, and an airline baggage worker also offered to help and both were told no, Salow said.

American's response: 'Absolutely our mistake'

American Airlines spokeswoman Leslie Scott said Salow should have been able to take the cooler on the plane.

"It was absolutely our mistake,'' she said.

The problem stemmed from strict restrictions on the number of carry-on bags passengers can bring when traveling on the new basic economy tickets, she said.

Strollers, diaper bags, breast pumps and breast-milk containers are among the items exempt from the restrictions, Scott said. When the basic economy tickets were introduced this year, American made it clear in policies sent to gate agents that the first three items were exempt but wasn't clear enough on the breast-milk containers, she said.

After Salow's experience, it's clear now, Scott said.

"We wanted to make it easier for our agents and just make the policy explicitly clear so that this doesn’t happen again,'' Scott said.

Salow said American has apologized and that its customer relations team is reviewing the matter.

Salow posted her experience on the Facebook page of the Breastfeeding Mama Talk blog. Its motto: "Sticking up for breastfeeding mothers since September 2012."

The post generated empathy for Salow. One mom from Ohio posted:  "My heart breaks for you mama! I just had a bad incident with flying and breastfeeding myself too, so I can totally relate to how helpless you feel when you are dealing with airline personnel. It's like you have to comply with whatever they tell you or you could face missing your flight or getting kicked off. That is not the way it should be. As paying customers they should treat us with more respect and they should all know the rules and regulations. They should follow them directly instead of letting their own feelings dictate how they enforce the rules.''

Others said she should demand compensation from American.

Salow said she is mainly seeking two things: reimbursement for the $50 cooler and a clear-cut policy so other breastfeeding moms don't have a similar experience.

"If we can save the next mom in line, justice is served for me,'' she said.