Airlines & Tuba Cases

[Tubainsauga]

My teacher uses a swiss case to fly with and he says he's had not complaints. I think the main difference is that the swiss case will wear out after fewer flights when compared to a Walt Johnson. It might also not protect it enough for more extreme incidents in baggage handling (like being dropped form the cargo door of the aircraft).

A funny story about instruments and baggage handling. A trombonist from Toronto was flying with his horn in a brand new case and he had to check it. He believed this case would survive and protect his instrument so he wasn't very worried. As he was sitting at the gate, he was watching them load the bags. This is when he spotted his trombone case. One of the baggage handlers decided to throw it to the person at the cargo door. He missed. It hit the side of the door and fell to the ground and bounced a few times. He thought to himself "what is my horn going to look like when I get to (I think it was Vancouver, but I can't quite remember)?" As it turns out his horn is fine, but after 5 more minutes of waiting at the gate, he hears an announcement. "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but this flight will be delayed as the aircraft has sustained damage." I guess this time the instrument won.

[adam0408]

Personally, in my limited flight experience, I have found that foreign airport employees are much nicer and easier to deal with than their US counterparts. I just recently flew out of geneva switzerland with a bass trombone and the people at the airport there were very helpful and concerned that the instrument suffered no damage. They even inspected it while I was watching and taped up the case very securely with bright orange tape.

I have also seen baggage inspectors wrap cases with what looks like plastic wrap. This works quite well with keeping the instrument case closed. The bottom line is ask and be nice. If you dont ask for something, you definately wont get it because these people dont get paid to care.

[Tom]

I would like to think that $1,400.00 for a Swiss case bought me some protection.

Money does not necessarily buy protection.

If this is what a Swiss Case is, it is not a flight case:



Those cases don't seem to have any special features that justify the $1400 price tag, but hey...that's Custom Music for you. The picture is the "Hirsbrunner case" off of their website, by the way.

Flying your Hirsbrunner around in such a case is taking a even bigger risk than flying with it in the first place. The case simply is not designed airline handling. It is pure luck if your Hirsbrunner comes out without damage on the other end. The fact that it's a Hirsbrunner is besides the point really...I wouldn't use a Swiss case for flying with any tuba.

A Walt Johnson, Anvil, or Meinl Weston flight trunk is much more protective and is designed to be used in such a manner. No case is 100% safe, but you have a much better chance of getting your tuba back without damage if you're using the right kind of case.