Seat for a bass ryanair...

[fiatcoupe432]

Hi guys , 

Sorry if ask a question which I'm sure has been asked in the past.

I have heard many times that you can book a seat for your bass. 

Is that true ? Has anyone done it before? If so how do you check in and add passport info ? 

Thank you in advance 

[mybass]

I think it’s safest to call the airline you will be travelling on, I would think it’s possible, just let other passengers know you’ve paid for the seat!…….(Many years ago I was reading a Rufus Reid book of music that included travelling with double bass and sure enough, he had pictures of his bass on a plane seat, upside down with the neck towards the floor).

[Eric.C.Lapton]

I think if you pay for the seat you can put want you want on there within reason 

[fiatcoupe432]

3 hours ago, mybass said:

I think it’s safest to call the airline you will be travelling on, I would think it’s possible, just let other passengers know you’ve paid for the seat!…….(Many years ago I was reading a Rufus Reid book of music that included travelling with double bass and sure enough, he had pictures of his bass on a plane seat, upside down with the neck towards the floor).

Thanks  for your reply 

I hoped someone had experience with this .Will see if not ill call ryanair tomorrow

[binky_bass]

I've travelled twice with instruments.

 

Qantas allowed me to take a hardcase on the plane and put it in the overhead locker free of charge.

 

British Airways didn't allow the above, the bass went in the cargo hold in my Airline-proof flight case.

 

If you're travelling, and local-ish to Essex, you're welcome to borrow my Airline-proof flight case. It was made by Rock Hard Cases out in The States and it is literally bomb proof. If you put a grenade in it, and stood 1 foot away, you'd be safe. 

Edited September 20, 2022 by binky_bass

[MichaelDean]

I booked an extra seat for a cello once. Had to call up the airline, and they were really good about it and I seem to remember that I didn't have to pay tax on that seat (may have changed, don't quote me on that!). Then, when I got on the plane, they had a strap extender ready to go for me. Did mean I missed out on the window seat though!

[ambient]

I’ve done it twice Antonio. Both times were to Ireland. It is - or was - pretty straightforward. I can’t remember who I flew with, it wasn’t Ryanair though.

[mybass]

8 minutes ago, ambient said:

I’ve done it twice Antonio. Both times were to Ireland. It is - or was - pretty straightforward. I can’t remember who I flew with, it wasn’t Ryanair though.

Quite right…pay for the sear and get two meals 😁

 

[mybass]

4 hours ago, mybass said:

I think it’s safest to call the airline you will be travelling on, I would think it’s possible, just let other passengers know you’ve paid for the seat!…….(Many years ago I was reading a Rufus Reid book of music that included travelling with double bass and sure enough, he had pictures of his bass on a plane seat, upside down with the neck towards the floor).

I used to always carry my bass in a soft case on all U.K. flights to Europe….the first airline to start questioning was Easy Jet!

[TheGreek]

Don't some airlines allow under 5s to travel free? Tell them your bass is under 5 years old.

[uk_lefty]

19 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Don't some airlines allow under 5s to travel free? Tell them your bass is under 5 years old.

Don't give Ryanair ideas. They'll charge you per string!!!

[petebassist]

Has anyone ever taken the neck off (bolt on necks obv) and travelled like that? Asking for a friend...

[Cat Burrito]

I've done it a few times. Check with the airline but Ryan Air called the "customer" "instrument" when I booked the 2nd seat. Every airline is different but with Ryan Air you buy your bass a ticket as instrument for each flight. This was the case in May when I played Ibiza and it rings a bell for Norway in 2019 too. 

 

We did have different approaches from other airlines so it is always worth looking at the website. I think Ryan Air get a lot of semi-pro  / semi- big bands flying with them so they all seemed to be familiar with this arrangement. We ran into problems in Italy and again in Sweden where the relevant airlines did things differently. This is when they start to ramp up fees and it gets expensive. 

 

@petebassist, no experience but I think customs would have a few concerns about the strings and parts in the case. I've certainly never come across this. 

[itu]

5 hours ago, petebassist said:

Has anyone ever taken the neck off (bolt on necks obv) and travelled like that?

Had a gig in Switzerland few weeks ago. Last time Swissair destroyed my Modulus Graphite HSC. Not the bass, although it was a close shave.

 

This time I decided to keep my bass beside me all the time. I have a bitsa with a J body and a Status MM4 neck. I took the bass apart at home, and put it together after arriving to Zürich. The neck is so stable that there were no issues with it. After the gig I took the bass apart and flew back.

 

The bitsa is now my ultimate travel instrument. (I have screw inserts in the neck.)

[fiatcoupe432]

On 20/09/2022 at 21:22, binky_bass said:

I've travelled twice with instruments.

 

Qantas allowed me to take a hardcase on the plane and put it in the overhead locker free of charge.

 

British Airways didn't allow the above, the bass went in the cargo hold in my Airline-proof flight case.

 

If you're travelling, and local-ish to Essex, you're welcome to borrow my Airline-proof flight case. It was made by Rock Hard Cases out in The States and it is literally bomb proof. If you put a grenade in it, and stood 1 foot away, you'd be safe. 

Thank you mate 

Nit passing that side unfortunately but thank you so much for offering.

Sounds like an awesome case

[ossyrocks]

23 hours ago, petebassist said:

Has anyone ever taken the neck off (bolt on necks obv) and travelled like that? Asking for a friend...

I’ve flown to the Isle of Man a couple of times for gigs (guitar gigs) and just took my Telecaster in my carry on bag with the neck removed. Quickly assembled and strung up on arrival at the venue.

[Lozz196]

Must admit I`m thinking of this approach for my next overseas gigs - should I have any of course.

[Ricky 4000]

Is there any guarantee that you and your bass would be seated next to each other?

[Reggaebass]

24 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Is there any guarantee that you and your bass would be seated next to each other?

And there could be an argument if the bass gets the window seat 😁

[Grahambythesea]

I’ve travelled with a guitar on both EasyJet and ElAl. No charge but size limited and a bass would be too big. I have a 12fret parlour guitar which is just right. Saw a guy trying to get on with a bass in a soft case once. How he got past the ground staff I have no idea, but the cabin crew would not let it on and were offering to put in the hold!!!!

[mybass]

23 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said:

I’ve travelled with a guitar on both EasyJet and ElAl. No charge but size limited and a bass would be too big. I have a 12fret parlour guitar which is just right. Saw a guy trying to get on with a bass in a soft case once. How he got past the ground staff I have no idea, but the cabin crew would not let it on and were offering to put in the hold!!!!

From experience…..you can get past ground staff but they are often the same ones at the check in dock station at the plane’s gate, if they’ve already warned you once they’ll get ya at the plane.

[Cat Burrito]

1 hour ago, Ricky 4000 said:

Is there any guarantee that you and your bass would be seated next to each other?

Good question! You need to pay to reserve seating or your pride and joy could be sitting amongst the lads holiday. We had that on one flight and my bass didn't speak to me for weeks afterwards!

[PaulThePlug]

Careful the bass doesn't get an upgrade and complimentary drinks n peanuts in 1st class leaving you seated with the great unwashed!

Edited September 22, 2022 by PaulThePlug

[mike257]

Done it before on Ryanair, you put the passenger name as "Extra Item Seat" and give it the same passport number as the actual passenger. There's info on the process on their website if you look hard enough!

[Matt P]

i've not done the booking but i have travelled with a guitar in it's own seat, it was a band trip to germany (i think on Ryan Air?) each instrument had a seat and there were belt extenders for each, one of the instruments was assigned to me and the rule was that the instrument went in the window seat next to the passenger that was booked with it.

 

as an aside, for that trip the guitarist had a small marshall combo that was small enough to be hand luggage, he just tucked his book in the back of the open backed amp.

 

Matt