The previous two discussions inspired this one: In this post 9/11 world, has anyone had any trouble bringing their instrument on board an airplane? What are your horror stories of lost or damaged instruments that you have put in with the checked luggage? What are your sneaky tricks for getting your instrument on board? What are your funny stories? Which airlines are more lax or more strict? (post or pre-9/11)
took my fiddle with me in august 99 to the US. taking the instrument into the cabin was no problem in Frankfurt. In Atlanta while checking out international and switching to domestic the instrument and case was carefully checked and searched, but again no problem to take it into the cabin - same procedures with no problemos on the flight back home.
My double violin viola case is larger that the allotted hand luggage size but still fits neatly into the overhead lockers. A banjo playing chum gave me a good top tip which has worked plenty of times. When the person at check-in asks you about your hand luggage, just show them the top quarter. With a bit of practice you can hold it by the edge with one hand in such a way that it looks like that's the whole of it. Hiding three quarters below the counter. It just takes confidence
When I went to Ireland first time, I travelled with my good saddle. Just as precious as a musical instrument, pretty combersome and with a (saddle) tree that could easily be broken thumped about the way the baggage generally is. There was no way I wouldn't carry it as hand luggage, but I guess I was going to ride the Irish harses, so there wasn't any problem.
I've flown once in Australia with my fiddle, and blow me down if the person sitting in front of me wasn't carrying a fiddle too. Again, no problems.
Violins aren't generally a problem if you can have them in the cabin with you (but see at the end of this posting for a possible problem); international soloists have been known to book a seat for their Strad or whatever. But if you're a cellist think long and hard about flying with it. Horror stories of damaged cellos abound. I'll give you two.
Some years ago an international cellist flew from England to Dublin to give a concert. The cello of course travelled in the aircraft luggage hold - there's no way it can travel in the passenger cabin. On his arrival in Dublin the cellist opened the case to find that his Strad has virtually disintegrated, all the damage repairable, but it would take weeks. A combination of low pressure and low temperature in the hold coupled with aircraft vibration had done its work on the glue. The cellist had to rush around Dublin to borrow an instrument of sufficient standard for him to play in the concert the next day.
More recently, last year an up and coming young international cellist living near Bristol (UK) flew to Europe with his 18th century cello. On retrieving his instrument after the flight he found that something very heavy had been dropped on the front of the cello's reinforced titanium case at some stage during baggage handling, sufficiently hard to cave in the belly or table of the instrument. Again, a lengthy and expensive repair job was indicated with the inconvenience of borrowing an instrument for a few months.
I've heard that some insurance companies won't permit a very valuable cello to fly, or even to be taken out of a country. In which case the cellist has no recourse but to hire or borrow an instrument in his destination. (concert pianists have always had to do this).
Why am I talking about cellos on an itm site? They're not often used in itm (although I had my moment once with my cello in a session). It's just that a full size guitar in its case is nearly the same size as a cello and could be susceptible to the risk of similar damage. Guitarists beware!
There is the possibility that on a long flight fiddle pegs could loosen sufficiently through a dry cabin atmosphere for the bridge or soundpost to fall over, both irritating inconveniencies, the soundpost one usually needing the services of a technician to rectify. I suggest this may be prevented before the flight by carefully taping the pegs in position so that they can't loosen.
I've had two accordions damaged, one seriously, on flights.
The 3/4 size machines are too big to fit overhead (in their cases), so I packed one well and sent it below on a playing job to Oman. I later watched in horror as I saw my case being thrown on to the buggie outside the airplane window, even with fragile stickers on! It came out the other end with several stuck notes and a cracked corner. An band members electric piano fared ok.
The next time, to America (from Scotland), I took it out of it's case, wrapped it in a duffel bag and put it up as hand luggage-no problems.
Next time to Canada, a different accordion, and too much other musical hand luggage going above, it went below,...serious mistake, the bottom was smashed and required rebuilding and a complete reglueing and cosmetic facelift. Incidentally, no compensation from the airline because if you tell them it's fragile, they make you sign a responsibility waiver (lesson-don't even tell them, it won't make any difference!).
I never put instruments below now.
.....no jokes about broken accordions please!!......I've heard them all.....
I am an American flute/whistle player and I spent summer of 2001 in the west of Ireland. I was meant to fly back from Shannon to Boston on the 12th of September. For obvious reasons that did not happen and I ended up stuck in Limerick until the 18th (yes, I know).
On the 18th I went to the airport to catch my flight (which was being sent to NYC instead.... go figure!), with my flute packed in a pistol case inside my carry on backpack. The plain's had come from Belfast and was going on to NYC.
I went through the first checkpoint, having put my backpack through the X-ray machine. As I walked through the metal detector it went off. The guy in charge of the machine just sort of looked at me baffled, so I put out my arms to let him frisk me. After a minute of looking at me as if he had no idea what to do, he gave me a quick patdown and didn't find anything. Instead of making me go through the metal detector again, or using a handheld detector to figure out where the metal was, he just waved me on. My bag, with the flute in the pistol case made it rhough the X-ray machine with no problem.
Immediately afterwards was a cardtable at which two baggage checkers were seated. Passengers were just walking right past them and few people were having their bags checked.
As a responsable citizen, I put my bag down in front of them hoping that they would search it. The bag had five compartments in it... they only wanted to look in one and asked me to open it. Inside that compartment was my pistol case. I said, "Hey, this is a pistol case. Do you want to see what's inside?". They said "no", told me to close the bag and waved me on!!
Just before I boarded the plain there was one solitary baggage checker sitting near the departure gate. He must have checked 3 bags out of 300, as people walked right past him.
Seriously, anyone could have gotten on that plain with anything they wanted to bring.
Funny and scary at the same time!
On the other hand, the Germans ALWAYS look in my flute/pistol case
Chris
Last August, the x-ray people at Chicago O'Hare thought my concertina was a waffle iron (?)...they were very surprised when I told them it was a musical instrument, and they asked me to play it. It wasn't even a security issue--it was curiosity. However, they are in charge...so dozens of people behind me waited while I stood on one foot, balanced the 'tina on my knee, and played a jig. (no repeats...). It was one of life's odder moments.
When travelling with a fiddle case, there are rare occasions when the flight is full, you're at the tail end of the line, and all the overhead spaces are stuffed to capacity. This happened to me twice. On both occasions, the American Airlines stewardesses were nice enough to stow the fiddle in their service cabin, but I should stress this is only out of the goodness of their hearts.
The flight attendants may explain that 'in the future you shouldn't do this or that', so accept it gracefully and put on a repentant face. This only means they're going to help you.
If you cause a problem or insist that 'Airline X didn't have a problem with this in their overhead bins!', they can refuse to do you any favors at all and even force you to choose between flying or putting the instrument below in luggage. I've never seen that happen to an instrument, but it did happen to a lady who was carrying on an oversized meat tray bought at the duty free shop.
I have no report on how the meat tray fared upon arrival!
Take the smallest fiddle case you can. One of the traveling featherlites is the best -- it's your best chance of getting the thing to fit in the overheards. But if the plane's crowded, and if it's one of the little commuters...you may have to chance handing it to them in the jetway (which is better than checking it). I tend to try and borrow one wherever I'm going rather than carry mine.
When I attended Zoukfest last summer, I was concerned about getting my bouzouki there in one piece. I was determined not to check it, and let it out of my sight. Roger Landes, who runs Zoukfest, recommended I buy a gig bag and carry it on, which I did. The instrument looked much smaller in the bag than it did in the hardshell case. Having the bag slung over my back was less conspicuous than carrying the case, and it was also very lightweight. The airline folks are concerned about weight in the overhead bins, as well as the size. I just smiled at all the officials and had no problems. I also carried a bodhran on board.
I considered checking my hardshell case empty to use when I arrived, but decided to use the bag only. It worked out fine.
Harps are a pain in the butt to travel with. The smallest harp that anyone could still really play tunes on is about 26 strings. That's much bigger than a guitar, and in its case, even bigger. My teacher has a custom made wooden "coffin" lined with foam rubber stuff that it fits in, and I have used it, but its so cumbersonme--and once you get to where you're gong you are stuck shlepping both a harp and a huge "coffin" all over.
A woman who attended a harp workshop with me flew with her own harp which was so huge it was practically a china closet. It was protected by a soft case that wasn't even padded--just a canvas sack with a zipper, really.. She was very lucky--it wasn't damaged at all going to or from Ireland. (I saw her 5 years later at another workshop in the US and asked her how it fared on the way back.) She even took it on a bus (she got it to fit in the luggage part underneath) through rural N.Ireland to the Antrim Glens where the workshop was. Very lucky the thing didn't end up as a bag of toothpicks and strings.
Nothing to do with flying, but I was once walking home from a pub one night with a tin whistle up my sleeve, the bottom end just protruding. I noticed a police car pulling up alongside me, but thought nothing of it. Next, an officer wound down his window, leaned out and said, "Excuse me, what's that you've got up your sleeve?". Whipping it out, I said, "It's a tin whistle," to which he replied, "Oh, it's a tin whistle. That's all right - I thought it might be a Kalashnikov."
I always refer to my low whistle as "the 12-gauge." God knows, it sure doesn't fire fast enough to be a Kalashnikov! At least not when I'm the triggerman.
David--funny story! I have a similar one--nothing to do with flying or ITM either, for that matter.
I was lost in a very bad part of town--late at night waiting for a bus to get me close to home. I was carrying in my canvas bad a replicated 10th c. sword. It didn't even have a sharp point on it. The cops pulled over and made me get inside, and questioned me about it at length. I was scared silly. then my bus flew past and I started to cry--I made them catch up with the bus . They let me go, I guess they realized I was harmless. I look about as dangerous as Snow White.
a mate of mine always refers to his bazooki as his bazooka. Fine untill he was asked what was in the case by airport security and he replied without thinking
try a google search on Kalashnikov. And wait for the cops to come a knocking.
Actually I just thought, that if someone did do a search for Kalashnikov, They'd find this website. Ha Ha
Yes, if you are carrying a bouzouki in an airport, and somebody asks you what's in the case, always use one of the many other names for this instrument....cittern, octave mandolin/mandola....rather than bazooka.
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s) (Don't Do It!
I have flown once (return trip) with a 30 string folk harp (larger than a cello but smaller than a double bass). Way too big to take on board, so down below it went. On the way up I had no trouble at all. On the return flight I watched in horror as the baggage handler read all the labels (music instrument, fragile, handle with care etc) before THROWING it on the baggage cart. Then they rammed it into the chute for the conveyor belt.
To this day I'm not sure how it managed to get through (one of those "Tardis" moments I guess) however by doing this they did manage to break the conveyor belt, which send the harp crashing to the ground. Fortunately the damage was mostly cosmetic and repairable. The handler would have been a hell of a lot worse off if I hadn't been physically restrained by a very strong friend!
Since then I have vowed to never fly with instruments again, even my concertina which has a very strong, solid hardcase. You just never know who will be handling your instruments in your absence.
Unfortunately Down Under it's very hard to hire harps, folk or concert, anywhere.
I've taken my fiddle to Ireland and to Holland recently. Going to Ireland was no problem, I thought that customs would have asked to inspect it as the X-ray looked very suspicious. Spare strings a tuner and a spare battery looked like some type of "device". Going to Holland was a little awkward. They initially refused to let me take it in the cabin. I told them I had phoned (which I had) and they said it was ok. So they let me through to the next stage telling me I would have to get clearance from them. At each following stage I told them that the last lot said it was ok and they seemed happy to accept this. So I managed to get my fiddle in the case in the cabin. I really did not want it in the hold as I don't think it would have been handled very carefully and the coldness would have probably caused damage as well.
I should think the Irish security folk are quite accustomed to what all the various fiddle bits (as well as other instruments common to ITM) look like. Since I've seen them scramble in a flash on anything they DO think is suspicious looking, my bet is that they've seen so much fiddle stuff go by that they know what's normal for a fiddler to carry and what's not...
Hey Chris,
how did you make the Germans look in your cases all the time ? I live in Germany and have been flying to England and Ireland since the 09.11. with flute and low whistles and nobody ever cared !! Actually I did ask them if the could see alloy on their screens because I thought at least the low whistle had to cause a bit of trouble...they just said yes of course and waved me through ! I must confess ever since I am not very convinced about security on airplanes at all !!!
All the best, Dagmar
Hey Ive flown to europe and back to australia loads of times and no one has ever asked me about my fiddle. I heard a rumour that if they insist on making you put it in with the luggage that you can sign a statement 'under duress' and if anything happens to the instrument that will hold up in court when seeking compensation. Dont know if its true, probably worth a try!
I've only flown with my fiddle a couple of time (don't like flying) and was given grief at the ticket counter every time. The last time they told me it had to go in the hold and I simply told them they didn't want that kind of responsibility. I took my ticket and turned to leave, while getting her and her supervisors name. She looked at me like I was a crazy person and asked me if I would seriously throw away a such an expensive plane ticket. I told her it was better than throwing away an even more valuable instrument. They let me on the plane. Sometimes you just have to call the bluff. I arrange to fly people and things around the country for a living and I wouldn't trust cargo with my life. And you bet, I've booked seats for Cellos and Harps and even two seats for a double bass once. It was written into players contracts.
Flying with musical instrument(s)
Flying with musical instrument(s)
The previous two discussions inspired this one: In this post 9/11 world, has anyone had any trouble bringing their instrument on board an airplane? What are your horror stories of lost or damaged instruments that you have put in with the checked luggage? What are your sneaky tricks for getting your instrument on board? What are your funny stories? Which airlines are more lax or more strict? (post or pre-9/11)
# Posted on November 11th 2002 by Andee
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
took my fiddle with me in august 99 to the US. taking the instrument into the cabin was no problem in Frankfurt. In Atlanta while checking out international and switching to domestic the instrument and case was carefully checked and searched, but again no problem to take it into the cabin - same procedures with no problemos on the flight back home.
# Posted on November 11th 2002 by crannog
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
My double violin viola case is larger that the allotted hand luggage size but still fits neatly into the overhead lockers. A banjo playing chum gave me a good top tip which has worked plenty of times. When the person at check-in asks you about your hand luggage, just show them the top quarter. With a bit of practice you can hold it by the edge with one hand in such a way that it looks like that's the whole of it. Hiding three quarters below the counter. It just takes confidence
# Posted on November 11th 2002 by llig leahcim
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
The Dutch customs have had me play and even open my piano accordion up to check inside. What can you import into Holland that isn't readily available?
# Posted on November 11th 2002 by geoffwright
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
When I went to Ireland first time, I travelled with my good saddle. Just as precious as a musical instrument, pretty combersome and with a (saddle) tree that could easily be broken thumped about the way the baggage generally is. There was no way I wouldn't carry it as hand luggage, but I guess I was going to ride the Irish harses, so there wasn't any problem.
I've flown once in Australia with my fiddle, and blow me down if the person sitting in front of me wasn't carrying a fiddle too. Again, no problems.
# Posted on November 11th 2002 by Jill
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Violins aren't generally a problem if you can have them in the cabin with you (but see at the end of this posting for a possible problem); international soloists have been known to book a seat for their Strad or whatever. But if you're a cellist think long and hard about flying with it. Horror stories of damaged cellos abound. I'll give you two.
Some years ago an international cellist flew from England to Dublin to give a concert. The cello of course travelled in the aircraft luggage hold - there's no way it can travel in the passenger cabin. On his arrival in Dublin the cellist opened the case to find that his Strad has virtually disintegrated, all the damage repairable, but it would take weeks. A combination of low pressure and low temperature in the hold coupled with aircraft vibration had done its work on the glue. The cellist had to rush around Dublin to borrow an instrument of sufficient standard for him to play in the concert the next day.
More recently, last year an up and coming young international cellist living near Bristol (UK) flew to Europe with his 18th century cello. On retrieving his instrument after the flight he found that something very heavy had been dropped on the front of the cello's reinforced titanium case at some stage during baggage handling, sufficiently hard to cave in the belly or table of the instrument. Again, a lengthy and expensive repair job was indicated with the inconvenience of borrowing an instrument for a few months.
I've heard that some insurance companies won't permit a very valuable cello to fly, or even to be taken out of a country. In which case the cellist has no recourse but to hire or borrow an instrument in his destination. (concert pianists have always had to do this).
Why am I talking about cellos on an itm site? They're not often used in itm (although I had my moment once with my cello in a session). It's just that a full size guitar in its case is nearly the same size as a cello and could be susceptible to the risk of similar damage. Guitarists beware!
There is the possibility that on a long flight fiddle pegs could loosen sufficiently through a dry cabin atmosphere for the bridge or soundpost to fall over, both irritating inconveniencies, the soundpost one usually needing the services of a technician to rectify. I suggest this may be prevented before the flight by carefully taping the pegs in position so that they can't loosen.
-m
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by lazyhound
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I've had two accordions damaged, one seriously, on flights.
The 3/4 size machines are too big to fit overhead (in their cases), so I packed one well and sent it below on a playing job to Oman. I later watched in horror as I saw my case being thrown on to the buggie outside the airplane window, even with fragile stickers on! It came out the other end with several stuck notes and a cracked corner. An band members electric piano fared ok.
The next time, to America (from Scotland), I took it out of it's case, wrapped it in a duffel bag and put it up as hand luggage-no problems.
Next time to Canada, a different accordion, and too much other musical hand luggage going above, it went below,...serious mistake, the bottom was smashed and required rebuilding and a complete reglueing and cosmetic facelift. Incidentally, no compensation from the airline because if you tell them it's fragile, they make you sign a responsibility waiver (lesson-don't even tell them, it won't make any difference!).
I never put instruments below now.
.....no jokes about broken accordions please!!......I've heard them all.....
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by Kenn
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I am an American flute/whistle player and I spent summer of 2001 in the west of Ireland. I was meant to fly back from Shannon to Boston on the 12th of September. For obvious reasons that did not happen and I ended up stuck in Limerick until the 18th (yes, I know).
On the 18th I went to the airport to catch my flight (which was being sent to NYC instead.... go figure!), with my flute packed in a pistol case inside my carry on backpack. The plain's had come from Belfast and was going on to NYC.
I went through the first checkpoint, having put my backpack through the X-ray machine. As I walked through the metal detector it went off. The guy in charge of the machine just sort of looked at me baffled, so I put out my arms to let him frisk me. After a minute of looking at me as if he had no idea what to do, he gave me a quick patdown and didn't find anything. Instead of making me go through the metal detector again, or using a handheld detector to figure out where the metal was, he just waved me on. My bag, with the flute in the pistol case made it rhough the X-ray machine with no problem.
Immediately afterwards was a cardtable at which two baggage checkers were seated. Passengers were just walking right past them and few people were having their bags checked.
As a responsable citizen, I put my bag down in front of them hoping that they would search it. The bag had five compartments in it... they only wanted to look in one and asked me to open it. Inside that compartment was my pistol case. I said, "Hey, this is a pistol case. Do you want to see what's inside?". They said "no", told me to close the bag and waved me on!!
Just before I boarded the plain there was one solitary baggage checker sitting near the departure gate. He must have checked 3 bags out of 300, as people walked right past him.
Seriously, anyone could have gotten on that plain with anything they wanted to bring.
Funny and scary at the same time!
On the other hand, the Germans ALWAYS look in my flute/pistol case
Chris
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by ChrisLaughlin
Plane
Yes, I know I misspelled plane the whole way through!
LOL
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by ChrisLaughlin
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Last August, the x-ray people at Chicago O'Hare thought my concertina was a waffle iron (?)...they were very surprised when I told them it was a musical instrument, and they asked me to play it. It wasn't even a security issue--it was curiosity. However, they are in charge...so dozens of people behind me waited while I stood on one foot, balanced the 'tina on my knee, and played a jig. (no repeats...). It was one of life's odder moments.
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by woman of the house
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
When travelling with a fiddle case, there are rare occasions when the flight is full, you're at the tail end of the line, and all the overhead spaces are stuffed to capacity. This happened to me twice. On both occasions, the American Airlines stewardesses were nice enough to stow the fiddle in their service cabin, but I should stress this is only out of the goodness of their hearts.
The flight attendants may explain that 'in the future you shouldn't do this or that', so accept it gracefully and put on a repentant face. This only means they're going to help you.
If you cause a problem or insist that 'Airline X didn't have a problem with this in their overhead bins!', they can refuse to do you any favors at all and even force you to choose between flying or putting the instrument below in luggage. I've never seen that happen to an instrument, but it did happen to a lady who was carrying on an oversized meat tray bought at the duty free shop.
I have no report on how the meat tray fared upon arrival!
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by Caoimghgin
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Take the smallest fiddle case you can. One of the traveling featherlites is the best -- it's your best chance of getting the thing to fit in the overheards. But if the plane's crowded, and if it's one of the little commuters...you may have to chance handing it to them in the jetway (which is better than checking it). I tend to try and borrow one wherever I'm going rather than carry mine.
Zina
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
When I attended Zoukfest last summer, I was concerned about getting my bouzouki there in one piece. I was determined not to check it, and let it out of my sight. Roger Landes, who runs Zoukfest, recommended I buy a gig bag and carry it on, which I did. The instrument looked much smaller in the bag than it did in the hardshell case. Having the bag slung over my back was less conspicuous than carrying the case, and it was also very lightweight. The airline folks are concerned about weight in the overhead bins, as well as the size. I just smiled at all the officials and had no problems. I also carried a bodhran on board.
I considered checking my hardshell case empty to use when I arrived, but decided to use the bag only. It worked out fine.
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by blowfly
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Can I suggest as an alternative to borrowing an instrument at the destination; borrow one from a friend before departure...
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by Kenn
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Kenn
Let's hope the borrower and "borrowee" are still friends after the event ...
-m
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by lazyhound
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Harps are a pain in the butt to travel with. The smallest harp that anyone could still really play tunes on is about 26 strings. That's much bigger than a guitar, and in its case, even bigger. My teacher has a custom made wooden "coffin" lined with foam rubber stuff that it fits in, and I have used it, but its so cumbersonme--and once you get to where you're gong you are stuck shlepping both a harp and a huge "coffin" all over.
A woman who attended a harp workshop with me flew with her own harp which was so huge it was practically a china closet. It was protected by a soft case that wasn't even padded--just a canvas sack with a zipper, really.. She was very lucky--it wasn't damaged at all going to or from Ireland. (I saw her 5 years later at another workshop in the US and asked her how it fared on the way back.) She even took it on a bus (she got it to fit in the luggage part underneath) through rural N.Ireland to the Antrim Glens where the workshop was. Very lucky the thing didn't end up as a bag of toothpicks and strings.
# Posted on November 12th 2002 by Andee
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I've been told it's possible to book a cabin seat in an aircraft for a hard-cased cello. Presumably not economy class ...
-m
# Posted on November 13th 2002 by lazyhound
Offensive instruments
Nothing to do with flying, but I was once walking home from a pub one night with a tin whistle up my sleeve, the bottom end just protruding. I noticed a police car pulling up alongside me, but thought nothing of it. Next, an officer wound down his window, leaned out and said, "Excuse me, what's that you've got up your sleeve?". Whipping it out, I said, "It's a tin whistle," to which he replied, "Oh, it's a tin whistle. That's all right - I thought it might be a Kalashnikov."
# Posted on November 13th 2002 by granama
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Good job it wasn't a low whistle
# Posted on November 13th 2002 by llig leahcim
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I always refer to my low whistle as "the 12-gauge." God knows, it sure doesn't fire fast enough to be a Kalashnikov! At least not when I'm the triggerman.
# Posted on November 13th 2002 by cuchulain54
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
David--funny story! I have a similar one--nothing to do with flying or ITM either, for that matter.
I was lost in a very bad part of town--late at night waiting for a bus to get me close to home. I was carrying in my canvas bad a replicated 10th c. sword. It didn't even have a sharp point on it. The cops pulled over and made me get inside, and questioned me about it at length. I was scared silly. then my bus flew past and I started to cry--I made them catch up with the bus . They let me go, I guess they realized I was harmless. I look about as dangerous as Snow White.
Sorry for the getting off on a tangent..........
# Posted on November 13th 2002 by Andee
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
what is a Kalashnikov anyway? Ive never heard of it before. Im assuming its a weapon of some kind. Aussies tend to just talk people to death!
# Posted on November 13th 2002 by bb
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
a mate of mine always refers to his bazooki as his bazooka. Fine untill he was asked what was in the case by airport security and he replied without thinking
try a google search on Kalashnikov. And wait for the cops to come a knocking.
Actually I just thought, that if someone did do a search for Kalashnikov, They'd find this website. Ha Ha
# Posted on November 13th 2002 by llig leahcim
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Yes, if you are carrying a bouzouki in an airport, and somebody asks you what's in the case, always use one of the many other names for this instrument....cittern, octave mandolin/mandola....rather than bazooka.
Oops, I mean bouzouki.
# Posted on November 14th 2002 by blowfly
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s) (Don't Do It!
I have flown once (return trip) with a 30 string folk harp (larger than a cello but smaller than a double bass). Way too big to take on board, so down below it went. On the way up I had no trouble at all. On the return flight I watched in horror as the baggage handler read all the labels (music instrument, fragile, handle with care etc) before THROWING it on the baggage cart. Then they rammed it into the chute for the conveyor belt.
To this day I'm not sure how it managed to get through (one of those "Tardis" moments I guess) however by doing this they did manage to break the conveyor belt, which send the harp crashing to the ground. Fortunately the damage was mostly cosmetic and repairable. The handler would have been a hell of a lot worse off if I hadn't been physically restrained by a very strong friend!
Since then I have vowed to never fly with instruments again, even my concertina which has a very strong, solid hardcase. You just never know who will be handling your instruments in your absence.
Unfortunately Down Under it's very hard to hire harps, folk or concert, anywhere.
Regards,
Ptollemy
# Posted on November 14th 2002 by Ptollemy
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I've taken my fiddle to Ireland and to Holland recently. Going to Ireland was no problem, I thought that customs would have asked to inspect it as the X-ray looked very suspicious. Spare strings a tuner and a spare battery looked like some type of "device". Going to Holland was a little awkward. They initially refused to let me take it in the cabin. I told them I had phoned (which I had) and they said it was ok. So they let me through to the next stage telling me I would have to get clearance from them. At each following stage I told them that the last lot said it was ok and they seemed happy to accept this. So I managed to get my fiddle in the case in the cabin. I really did not want it in the hold as I don't think it would have been handled very carefully and the coldness would have probably caused damage as well.
# Posted on November 14th 2002 by Daver
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I should think the Irish security folk are quite accustomed to what all the various fiddle bits (as well as other instruments common to ITM) look like. Since I've seen them scramble in a flash on anything they DO think is suspicious looking, my bet is that they've seen so much fiddle stuff go by that they know what's normal for a fiddler to carry and what's not...
zls
# Posted on November 15th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
bb - The less people know about Kalashnikovs, the better. suffice to say, it's big, Russian and deadly.
# Posted on November 15th 2002 by granama
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Hey Chris,
how did you make the Germans look in your cases all the time ? I live in Germany and have been flying to England and Ireland since the 09.11. with flute and low whistles and nobody ever cared !! Actually I did ask them if the could see alloy on their screens because I thought at least the low whistle had to cause a bit of trouble...they just said yes of course and waved me through ! I must confess ever since I am not very convinced about security on airplanes at all !!!
All the best, Dagmar
# Posted on November 17th 2002 by drdagmar
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I'm going on a plane ride in two days and you people are giving me nightmares !!!
The good stuff is going in the cabin, if I have to sit on the case.
# Posted on November 17th 2002 by cat
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
Hey Ive flown to europe and back to australia loads of times and no one has ever asked me about my fiddle. I heard a rumour that if they insist on making you put it in with the luggage that you can sign a statement 'under duress' and if anything happens to the instrument that will hold up in court when seeking compensation. Dont know if its true, probably worth a try!
# Posted on November 18th 2002 by bb
Re: Flying with musical instrument(s)
I've only flown with my fiddle a couple of time (don't like flying) and was given grief at the ticket counter every time. The last time they told me it had to go in the hold and I simply told them they didn't want that kind of responsibility. I took my ticket and turned to leave, while getting her and her supervisors name. She looked at me like I was a crazy person and asked me if I would seriously throw away a such an expensive plane ticket. I told her it was better than throwing away an even more valuable instrument. They let me on the plane. Sometimes you just have to call the bluff. I arrange to fly people and things around the country for a living and I wouldn't trust cargo with my life. And you bet, I've booked seats for Cellos and Harps and even two seats for a double bass once. It was written into players contracts.
# Posted on November 30th 2002 by ANNY