Airline travel with instruments

Cindy Cashdollar · From: New York, USA

I'm working with the Musician's Union here in Austin to try to troubleshoot the nearly impossible airline restrictions imposed on travelling musicians. As you may know, the restrictions keep changing, and you can be told one thing by phone or online, and you get to the airport and like magic, it changes. The whole experience is a total crapshoot.

Checking a steel guitar in a roadcase will put that nice 80 dollar excess baggage charge on there if it exceeds 50lbs. on some, 40 lbs on others..Southwest at least allows 70lbs before they charge you (45 dollars ).... not to mention actual size regulations. Bringing a smaller instrument ONTO the plane as a carry-on item in a gig bag or hardshell case is always an experience.... They love me, they love me not.....who will be the lucky one here today...

You don't have to be doing union jobs to help out here, this is to help ALL musicians hopefully.
Please email Ginger Shults at the union here in Austin (reference my name). The address is: G.Shults@worldnet.att. with ANY recent experiences you have had regarding checking inbaggage, carry-on items, etc. What airline,problems that occured, money charged, any exceptions made, etc. PLEASE KEEP INFO TO THE POINT AND CLEAR.

Thank you so much to give time to do this, I feel it's a very important issue. The more info. Ginger has, the better she will be able to sort it out and hand it on to the powers that be.

Gerald Ross · From: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

Cindy,

Thanks for tackling this issue. The current situation of constantly being at the whims of the board gate agent is ridiculous.

Also, many musicians cannot afford a dedicated airline-proof case for their instrument (i.e., Calton $500+). Placing these instruments in baggage is nerve racking, to say the least.

------------------
Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 12 January 2003 at 06:24 AM.]

Ian McLatchie · From: Sechelt, British Columbia

Checking an instrument onto an airplane is indeed a nerve-racking experience, one made much more frustrating by the apparent absence of any consistent rules of enforcement. In terms of carry-on baggage, I've found the biggest problem by far to be dealing with ticket agents, many of whom are young, inexperienced and afraid to exercise any discretion for fear they'll take the heat for a wrong decision (not an unfounded fear, I'm sure). I've learned that the best approach, whenever an agent balks at letting me take on an "oversize" item, is to suggest that I be allowed to take the guitar with me to the departure lounge, then leave it to the purser to decide whether it be stored in the overhead compartment or the bulkhead. After that it's a breeze, and I've never had a purser or any member of a flight crew object in the least to me sticking a guitar case in the overhead.

The problems have become much worse in the wake of September 11, and here again it's the lack of consistency that's most galling. When I went to the Sacred Steel convention in Orlando last spring, I took along my Fender Deluxe 8, wrapping the case in a double layer of cardboard as a precaution against what I supposed would be a considerable chance of not being able to take it aboard as a carry-on.
Heading south was no problem, but on my way home I encountered a young soldier at the security desk who seemed determined that this mysterious object on the x-ray screen would somehow jeopardize the safety of Flight 110. He was particularly interested to know what sort of instrument it was (are some kinds a greater security risk than others?!), and once I'd managed to convince him that it was indeed a guitar, he became preoccupied with the presence of what he was convinced was some sort of battery in the case (i.e. the steel, in a screw-top plastic tube). Despite my best attempts at pantomime, I was unable to convince him that it was merely the bar with which the instrument was played. So, I offered to open the case and let him see for himself. That didn't seem like an insulting suggestion to me, but you'd think it was by the way he reacted: he behaved as if to look into a lowly piece of baggage was beneath his dignity, and waved me through without a single word. Argh! Thanks for taking on this issue, Cindy, and good luck.

[This message was edited by Ian McLatchie on 12 January 2003 at 12:04 PM.]

[This message was edited by Ian McLatchie on 12 January 2003 at 12:08 PM.]

Jeff Au Hoy · From: Honolulu, Hawai'i

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

mikey · From: New Jersey

fly charter...or travel by bus...
Mike

TonyL · From: Seattle. WA

Buy an extra seat as a last resort-depending on the flight it may be just as expensive as an oversize cargo fee.

It worked for me when I flew with my upright bass.

T

K Maul · From: Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL

Cindy-
I tried sending a message to the email you listed[including a few variations just in case] and it would not go through.Please email me if you can.

Here is the story anyway-
I wanted to relate an incident I had with Delta back in September.
My flight was to Jacksonville FLA-I had a two day date there with the Burns Sisters,with whom I play regularly.Due to car trouble I was pretty late getting to Albany NY airport.I had a hard shell case with a lap steel in it and a good gig bag with my main instrument,a dobro.The ticket agent would not let me pass with the gig bag,even tho I explained that it would indeed fit in the overheads and that to check it would mean total destruction to the $2500 instrument.She agreed and prevented me from even checking it as baggage.I had no time to bring it back to my car or call anyone. I could not do the gig without it.I did not ask to talk to a supervisor because I was stressed already from being late.She was hauling out the FAA rulebook when I asked if I could just leave it there at the baggage office since I was to be back in less than 48 hours.She agreed and I did the gig with only my lap steel,which really was not the right instrument.
I spoke to the person in the baggage office when I returned and he told me Delta had sent specific instructions to prohibit musical instruments from carry-on.I thought that was strange.
I understand Local 1000,of which I am a member,has been trying to deal with this problem.

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