Flying with instruments - my guide

[Josh]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1346699790' post='1792150']
If you are allowed to take the bass into the cabin, then a gig bag will be fine. Ask the cabin crew to put it in the business class suit lockers rather than the standard overhead ones.

However the ultimate decision on whether you can or not rests with the check-in/gate/cabin crew on the day and no matter what the airline may tell you in advance their decision is final. It will help if you look smart and are travelling business class or better. Ultimately it's up to you whether you are going to get a proper case and put it in the hold or take a risk with a gig bag. The question you need to ask yourself is what are you going to do if you aren't allowed to take the bass into the cabin?

As for what to do at the other end. Technically you should declare it. Make sure you have the receipt accessible to prove that you only paid a "stupid price". Just bear in mind that customs have to power to confiscate undeclared goods. Again your choice.
[/quote]

Thanks for that. Unfortunately I'm only able to afford to lower economy so I hope that doesn't affect my luck.

The bass was only $149/£90, I have the receipts still so I'll keep them safe.

[Happy Jack]

Private Eye - 7 Sep 2012.

[attachment=117912:SC5-2609948.pdf]

Edited September 10, 2012 by Happy Jack

[4to5to6]

I use an SKB Bass Safe with my MTD 535 and just check it underneath as regular luggage and have never had a problem. The Bass Safe is a hard roto-molded shell that you place your gig bag inside of. You then also have the advantage of just using your light gig bag once you arrive.

[Plarry]

[quote name='iamapirate' timestamp='1244640386' post='510195']
Someone sticky this!!!
[/quote]

PlusOne! Very useful info here, thanks Dan & ya all!

[L.O.D]

This is a great sticky,,I still feel sick though at the thought of heading of a 25+hour flight with my bass and girlfriends guitar in the 'hold'..

[pendingrequests]

Have some gigs planned in Europe in the summer, so this sticky is great thanks guys!

I have a new Hiscox EBS case I might use, or my slightly battered, but still very sturdy Fender moulded case.

[toomey7]

Flying out to Ireland in a few weeks and this exactly the advice I needed to hear.

[Jimmi Clarke]

Hey Guys, I've been flying very regulaly with a bass at least once a month since 2004 and I've gone through every case from solid flight cases to gig bags hoping I'd get the bass on board. I found that most Artist management won't pay for an extra seat and more and more airlines won't let you take basses on board. So I was buying hiscox cases and replacing them every 4-6 months because they were breaking so often. I then found the SKB Bass Safe. It's really good, I've had it for just over a year now and it's still in great condition. It comes with a lifetime warranty so even when i lost a wheel I contacted customer services and they sent a new one straight away for free!! Awesome service. I find the catches do need to be locked or they can work loose. But this has really taken the stress out of flying for me. Hope that helps.

[Jah Wibble]

IMPORTANT NEWS

Not sure if this cause has been posted here already.

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/fair-treatment-for-musicians-traveling-on-planes-with-their-instruments?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email

Although the petition is now closed I got an update yesterday, thought it'd share it.....


[color=#2A2A2A][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]
Dear signatories of the FIM petition,[/size][/font][/color][color=#2A2A2A][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]
This message is to thank you for supporting our campaign 'Fair treatment for musicians traveling on planes with their instruments'.[/size][/font][/color][color=#2A2A2A][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]
A draft amended regulation has been published by the EU Commission on March 20th, 2013, which includes specific provisions about musical instruments carried on planes, which is exactly what our petition was about (you can access the full document here: [url="http://tinyurl.com/ctmddxe?utm_source=supporter_message&utm_medium=email"]http://tinyurl.com/ctmddxe[/url] and go directly to page 28, article 6e).[/size][/font][/color][color=#2A2A2A][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]
Of course, there is still some work to be done in order to make sure that the EU Parliament supports - or even improves - the Commission's proposal. But this is already a big success for all of us.[/size][/font][/color][color=#2A2A2A][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]
I wish to extend our thanks to the EU Commissions' officials who have been carefully listening to our arguments, to Mr George Bach MEP, to Pearle* (representing European employers in the live performance sector) and, of course, to Katie Melua and Janne Schaffer.[/size][/font][/color][color=#2A2A2A][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]
Best wishes to all,[/size][/font][/color][color=#2A2A2A][font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]
Benoît Machuel
General Secretary, International Federation of Musicians (FIM)[/size][/font][/color]

[Jah Wibble]

Update.....

http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/news/2013/03/13/mu-welcomes-new-instruments-on-planes-proposal/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=MusiciansUnion&utm_campaign=2300833_theMUNews25March&utm_content=MUwelcomesnewinstrumentsonplanesproposal&dm_i=2QJ,1DBC1,3NMEQE,4N6OG,1

[wriggers]

Hi all
Dont know if this has been mentioned but if you are flying to the US, then consider US Airways. just flown to Nashville, TN and back with them with my bass in a Tribal Planet semi rigid gig bag. they regard musical instruments as fragile objects, which means that you can take them in the cabin with you as well as a small personal bag for laptop etc. details on their website

Paul

[Twigman]

Anyone flown with a Mono gig bag?

I've just bought one.
I have a full fitted flight case but it's so heavy I hate lugging it around.

How will a Mono case survive in the hold?

[Stacker]

FWIW, I just flew back from Dublin with a 'zouk I bought. Wrapped the case in loads of bubble-wrap and rocked up late at the gate where I managed to get them to put it on by hand. Plus, Aer Lingus forgot to charge me the extra £30 they usually charge for musical instruments.

On the other hand, have a look at this. Red Hot Chilli Pipers' guitarist found the attached when the band landed at Milan. Turned out it had been run over by the baggage tractor at Edinburgh and the handlers sh*t it and just threw it into the hold!

[olipaulo]

Holly sh*t!!!

[Dusty]

I'm off to a festival in Hamburg in a few weeks, anyone had any experience with Lufthansa ??. Going to put mine in the hold in a pukka flight-case, cant take the chance of trying to get it in the cabin in a gig bag, only to be told its going in the hold !

[Dusty]

Spoke with Lufthansa on Monday....... Yes you can take your musical instrument onto the plane and if there's 'room' in the business class locker, we will put the guitars in there, if not it will have to go in the hold (at my risk) !! Btw, there will be a €75 excess baggage fee each way if it does !!
B%^*+^}$

[ubassman]

i just took a Stagg EUB away to Greece for a couple of weeks on holiday. The neck unscrews from the body and the whole thing packed relatively small.

They checked it in as if it were a suitcase and part of my baggage allowance and I was prepared for it to go in the hold but they said that I could hand it to the baggage handlers just before I was going up the steps to the plane. Nobody checked though and I took it on board and put in the overhead luggage both there and back ( handlers just seem to be on the look out for buggies and pushchairs!). !

[ubassman]

This was with Thomas Cooke airlines BTW

[jazzyvee]

[quote name='JoT' timestamp='1298245191' post='1134966']
Posted on your other message.

Basically, NO - do not go with Tesco or any non specialist insurer, as they will exclude musical instruments from any cover in any event. Stick to specialists.
[/quote]

That would be my advice too, In the late 90's i took my guitar on a caribbean holiday as I was going to be playing at a family wedding there also and asked for it to be covered under my travel insurance policy, they refused but my home contents policy covered it as long as I was not playing for financial gain. The best thing is to call a specialist company. If you are in the MU you get some cover as part of the membership but I can't recall how much that is.

[bbrich]

Hmmm… I work for an airline and, strictly speaking, you should always put an item as big as a bass in the hold - in which case you've got to have a "full" flight case. As mentioned throughout the thread you [i]can[/i] buy a seat for it but that could be expensive depending on where you're flying to and who you're flying with. Also, getting a bass guitar through all the security checks these days can be a pain. And customs anywhere will always be interested in you when you are carrying a very noticeable musical instrument. I've been flying for over thirty years and the only times I've ever been pulled over by customs were when carrying one of my basses. You're a musician so you're obviously carrying contraband or doing something illegal, right?

Trying to carry your instrument on board [i]can[/i] work, but if its going to fail it will fail at the door of the aircraft. I flew with one of my basses in a gig bag all the way from the Middle East to Manchester via Paris some years ago (pre-911). I carried the guitar on board the first flight without anybody raising any eyebrow. I put it, carefully, in the overhead locker. It was a large wide-bodied aircraft so no problem with the size of the locker. (Not all aircraft overheads will accommodate a bass).

When I arrived at Paris I checked in for the Manchester leg, went through security, etc, etc and went to board the aircraft. At the door of the aircraft the flight attendant refused to allow my bass on-board and insisted that it went in the hold. I explained that it was only in a soft bag and could easily get damaged but she wasn't having it. They took the bass off me and disappeared back down the stairs with my pride and joy. My wife told me not to make a scene!

When I finally calmed down and we settled into our seats I took a quick headcount. There were five passengers on-board. Me, my wife and three BA crew working their way back home. My bass could have had a whole row to itself. Luckily, when we arrived at Manchester my bass didn't come up the baggage reclaim belt in pieces - they actually brought it to me, unmarked, by hand. I wouldn't bet on that sort of customer service these days.

Incidentally, last time I checked, British Airways will carry musical instruments in the hold free of charge and without affecting your regular baggage allowance. But you'll need a full flight case. Not a hard case but a "full" flight case. Check out dealers like The Flightcase Warehouse. They're cheaper than you think. Then buy a couple of rolls of gaffer-tape and wrap tape around the case and over the clasps a few times. Locking the case won't prevent it from being stolen either. They'll nick the guitar [i]and[/i] the case if they really want it.

There is also a common belief that baggage is handled by the "last on first off' method. Its isn't. The only baggage that is sorted is First Class. Their bags come off first. For the rest of us its a lottery. How many times have you checked-in two suitcases together only to find that they're half an hour apart when you get to the other end?

The other things to do would include dressing respectably, being sober and straight, being pleasant with check-in staff, not behaving like a rock-star or a prat and - stay cool if (when) things go wrong. And check that your travel insurance covers musical instruments. A lot of them probably don't.

Sorry to rant but I've done this a lot.

Happy travels…

Edited October 31, 2013 by bbrich

[jazzyvee]

[quote name='bbrich' timestamp='1383259514' post='2262420']
Hmmm… I work for an airline and, strictly speaking, you should always put an item as big as a bass in the hold - in which case you've got to have a "full" flight case. As mentioned throughout the thread you [i]can[/i] buy a seat for it but that could be expensive depending on where you're flying to and who you're flying with.
[/quote]

I'm glad you have mentioned about buying a seat for an instrument. I was offered that option on one flight home from the USA and Is I said to the person at the time I can't see the logic other than to make money. Why you would allow me to strap my guitar it into a seat with a seatbelt not designed to prevent it from bouncing around the plane if there was bad turbulence or something more serious and the plane was being buffeted about, but not allow me to put int into an overheard locker where it will not be in danger of hitting anyone in the same circumstances.
He didn't have an answer just said those are my options or it goes in the hold. It went in the hold and was actually fine.

Can you explain the logic for that?

[charlie blaisdell]

Buy the best flight case you can afford and get religious . Do not rely on an "always" or an advance promise , British Airways supposedly "always" let you carry on , a few months ago I was bringing a bass back from the U.S. , BA would not allow it in the cabin after I had been told by many , including the travel agent that they would . After arriving in Copenhagen and a long wait in oversize it finally came out on a cart with twenty other bags and boxes piled on top of it despite the "fragile" stickers pasted everywhere , I was lucky , it was in one piece with minor damage being a bent tuning key . Everybody now is going crazy with carry-on trying to avoid the extra cost which leaves much less room for us . I would never fly with a high quality bass .

[jazzyvee]

[quote name='charlie blaisdell' timestamp='1384854120' post='2281381']
Buy the best flight case you can afford and get religious . Do not rely on an "always" or an advance promise , British Airways supposedly "always" let you carry on , a few months ago I was bringing a bass back from the U.S. , BA would not allow it in the cabin after I had been told by many , including the travel agent that they would . After arriving in Copenhagen and a long wait in oversize it finally came out on a cart with twenty other bags and boxes piled on top of it despite the "fragile" stickers pasted everywhere , I was lucky , it was in one piece with minor damage being a bent tuning key . Everybody now is going crazy with carry-on trying to avoid the extra cost which leaves much less room for us . I would never fly with a high quality bass .
[/quote]

Last year I went over to the USA to pick up my new bass and brought it back on the plane. At the time of flight booking i had a long torturous conversation with various people at BA about being allowed to bring my bass on board. In the end they agreed and gave me a contact name if there was a problem at the check in. I also got them to add this agreement to the notes on my booking which the check-in people see. So I had no problem at all. When I got on the plane the stewardess placed it in a locker and gave it to me as I left the plane. Maybe I was fortunate that time but from my previous touring experience, carrying on board is much easier when it's a non USA airline but for most of my travelling I've used custom flightcases from Flightcase Warehouse and it's gone in the hold.

Jazzyvee

[pendingrequests]

Heading to SXSW this year and unfortunately i have to put my precision in the hold.

The entire journey: Belfast to NY | NY to Houston | Houston to Austin

So many prayers will be said to make sure it arrives safely.

I am probably gonna use my fender fight case, or I may be able to borrow a proper flight case from a friend.

Whats the best way to store the bass? Should I de-tune all my strings? Put alot of socks around the bridge?

[BigRedX]

Get a proper flight case. Secure it, but don't lock it - if airport security decide they need to get into your case they will do it in the easiest and fastest way possible. Don't detune the strings. The strings and the truss rod balance each other out. If you detune the strings you also need to slacken off the truss rod (and then get the bass set up all over again when you reach your destination).