Living in our little Australian bush capital, I have to deal with a slightly annoying little worry every time that I travel by plane. As a musician, we always want to have our instruments on board as hand luggage.. due to the fragility of the instruments generally not mixing well with the rigours and stresses of the hold baggage handling, and the sometimes different temperature and humidity changes that occur in the baggage hold playing havoc with wood instruments.
Of course, there is also the worry that we are the temporary guardians and custodians of instruments that are generally centuries old... and it would be a huge pity if we were the last ones.
So, for those reasons... we will always fight tooth and nail to bring them on board with us. What is interesting, is that all the airlines are generally going down the route of maximising .... stuff... and they have more and more restrictive hand-luggage policies. Despite that, violins and violas are generally still allowed by the major carriers.... cheap budget ones are a bit dicey though, so we generally don't fly with those ones.
However... despite all of that, sometimes we can still find ourselves in a "discussion" about what will fit and what will be allowed on board. Sometimes, we are told that our instruments don't actually fit up in the cabin baggage areas... even though I have flown with them for my whole life... and I have seen some colleagues being forced to carry their instruments naked (without the case, the musician keeps their clothes...) for the whole flight just to get them on board.
What is even more strange, is the fact that all the airlines that DO allow instruments do have written and online policies about instruments and that they ARE allowed on board... but sometimes, this doesn't really get through to the individual person who is dealing with your check-in. I often being patient and polite generally works wonders... plus a little gentle reminder through a bookmarked website or print-out of the airline musical instrument policies. Not all musicians take this path of gentle persuasion though... which can be quite embarrassing to say the least!
So... what is my particular worry about flying from a relatively small (but INTERNATIONAL) airport... well, the Canberra airport definitely caters for the public servant and business crowd... and they generally will fly pretty damn light. Sometimes, they are only just in and out for a day (either coming into or out of Canberra).
That means that a good chunk of the planes that will fly out of there will be the much smaller Dash-8 prop planes. And these are really quite small ones (for commercial flights..), and the overhead compartment only JUST fits my violin/viola double case... and although the single cases are better, they are still a tight fit. And that can definitely cause problems if I get on a flight that is quite full with people and they bring on those larger cabin hold bags.
In those cases (haha..), I have to try to get on first... to claim a space. And if that fails, I have to try to plead with the air staff to try and get it in the coat hanging area at the front. Again, generally that has worked... and it has only been a single rare flight when absolutely no solution was acceptable for the air staff, and I had to have my instruments checked in as a "premium" baggage... meaning that they load it last, and give it to me immediately on the tarmac. Sigh... if it has to be done, it has to be done... but I really do hate it, and I do get quite nervous when that happens... but so far, nothing has happened... on they other hand, everything is always fine, until it isn't!
Wow, I never knew there are some policies at the airport that can deprive one from taking their instruments with them. It's a good thing you already know how it works around there.
I've never been on a plane before but it would be really fun to have such experiences and I hope someday I will. Hope you had a great trip?
Have a fabulous day ahead 🥰.
Yes, it is always a worry... but if you are polite, calm, and prepared then it usually can be resolved without too much hassle. One day, you will fly somewhere! It is quite an experience and quite mind-blowing when you actually think about it...
Yes I think being polite will help a lot, I will also keep that in mind 🥰.
I really do hope I get to have sure experience because I've a lot about how fun it can be.
Have a fabulous week and day ahead Sir 🥰💙.
As an instruments maker I can relate to this kind of situations. I haven't travelled with many instruments. Just once coming back from Brazil with a cavaquinho of my lap. I think that roughly the size of a tenor ukulele at best. But I have seen and read a lot about musicians having these kinds of troubles everywhere.
A friend of mine bought a instrument in May and came back for Germany to pick it up as well as visiting her family. But once she had to board the international flight, she had to pass that poor Venezuelan Cuatro as luggage. I was worried sick about that thing until she told it had arrived in one piece.
Other musicians that are ok the professional level have shared their experiences and some of them tell they even buy a ticket for the instrument so the crew can't complain about the case on board. And I guess that's a solution for some instruments. I would love to see how someone travels with a Theorbo or something of that kind that's too big for its own good.
Yes, the large ones definitely need an extra ticket... and that is a real hassle, as Mr or Ms "cello" seems to always flag security problems! But thankfully, I only play small instruments... and I only need to worry about everything when I check in! So far... no real problems, but there may come a day...
Considering how airlines behave, I wouldn't expect less than problems with them.
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