Airlines and heavy tuba cases--help!

[JB]

...on the way back into the US I had bomb residue...

Bomb residue? Are you serious?

Just curious, but where into the country to the north were you flying? (And did you play tuba at an explosives factory while there?)

[Julie W]

Just curious, but where into the country to the north were you flying? (And did you play tuba at an explosives factory while there?)

I flew from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to Edmonton, Alberta and back the same way.

Bomb residue? Are you serious?

Unfortunately yes. I was traveling with the UW-Milwaukee Youth Wind Ensemble and everyone's cases were in the same place all the time, and we only played in concert halls. So, I don't know what happened with that, it was only on the flight case though, not my gig bag or the tuba.

did you know that your horn weighed 100 pounds before the fact, or did the airline weigh it at check-in?

I had no idea how much it weighed, I knew it would be close to 100, but didnt realize there was a weight limit (I'm still allowed to be young and nieve from time to time) so I just showed up at the airport with 100 lbs worth of tuba. I had tons of extra padding in there though, so I could have easily taken a few pounds out.

Good Luck,

Julie

[Tubainsauga]

I recently flew to Heathrow with my Yamaha YCB 822 from Toronto with my highschool. For the trip I had a flight case made by a local company to go around the hard case that was included with the tuba. They massivly oversized it and it ended up being big enough to fit a good portion of the flute section inside, yet when I flew with it, it was under 100 lbs (and they never even wieghed it), but it was oversized and they didn't charge me anything for it. The only trick was fitting it under the bus in england. Perhaps I was just lucky, but that was my expereince. I found that the employees seem to look kindly on musicians.

[Steve Marcus]

Is someone familiar with the new security regulations? Can anyone confirm if you can, in fact, still purchase an addtional seat on the plane for your tuba? Do the airlines require some type of special gig bag or case or seat belt to safely secure the tuba?

[Bove]

Do the airlines require some type of special gig bag or case or seat belt to safely secure the tuba?

I frequently fly with my tuba (in a gig bag) in a seat. You purchase an additional ticket, and it is made out for “seat baggageâ€

[chipster55]

If you're not going overseas, take a couple of extra days & drive, enjoy the scenery & relax. Hmmm - maybe there's a business opportunity in all this - a tuba haulin' gig

[Steve Marcus]

Baltimore to San Francisco is a pretty long drive...

How about Chicago to the Netherlands? Or any US city to Markneukirchen, Germany? Or Hungary? Or...What do tubists do with their horns when they're flying overseas?