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Last month i flew from the us to europe with a sousaphone in a hard case and a sousphone gig bag packed with all kinds of goodies like a macbook, extra hard drive, new clothes etc. (went on a bit of a shopping spree because the dollar is so low) with no problems or extra fees. in fact, i have never encountered problems with tuba travel trans-atlantic.

within europe it's a bit different because there is a BIG charge for extra weight. once i had to pay more to take my tuba to vienna than my whole airfare! it is cheaper here to buy an extra seat on the plane for the tuba in a gig bag.

I flew to Europe for a month long tour two summers ago. the flight there was fine, the flight back was another story. My tuba was lost for one week. But I got it back with no damage.

July 2006 - Toronto-London-Toronto - Air Canada - B&H EEb in hard case with no extra padding - no problems either direction. No extra charges.

I'm not sure I would have enough courage to transport my new Rudy BBb like that though

Geotuba wrote:July 2006 - Toronto-London-Toronto - Air Canada - B&H EEb in hard case with no extra padding - no problems either direction. No extra charges.

I'm not sure I would have enough courage to transport my new Rudy BBb like that though

Ditto
November 2007 - Orlando to Chicago - American Airlines
I couldn't believe it. I insured the instrument through my homeowner's policy and I figured I'd collect. They didn't even scuff the case.

Another guy took a Martin in two Anvil cases, packed with bubble wrap and the baggage handlers wrinkled the bell.

If you are going to fly in the continent, try southwest. I know its cattle class, but they took great care of my horn and for a small fee ($45 each way) put it on the plane, and hand delivered it to me when i got to where i was going. So if you can sacrifice some leg room for a place to put your horn, it just may be the way to go....

Tubadad wrote: Anybody been refused or referred to air cargo?

Some airlines seem to have a maximum weight per item that they will accept as checked baggage. Qantas (Australian national airline) and Air New Zealand both have a limit of 32 Kgs per piece. This is apparently to protect the baggage handlers from injury..... The last two times I've flown Qantas with a C tuba, I've been made to repack it as it was over the weight limit. Luckily it was a simple matter of taking the gig bag out of the case and sending that separately, but what you can do if it's over the limit with only tuba and case I don't know. I have heard of people removing valves and slides to bring the horn in under the limit. The two times I flew to the States from Australia, I had to pay excess baggage charges in the order of a couple of hundred dollars. (that was with United) Another time flying between Australia and New Zealand I was charged four hundred dollars.

It can help if you call ahead or arrive ahead of the check-in time and ask to speak to the customer service manager at the terminal. Sometimes they can waive some of the excess charges. I managed to get them to do this when I flew to Budapest, but you can't always rely on it. Try not to get angry or confrontational with them or they won't help you! (Not saying that you did, Tubadad, but I often feel like shaking them when checking in with a tuba)

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it is wise to call ahead to the company (with lufthansa, a star alliance member it shouldn't be a problem). make sure that the airline doesn't have a maximum bag weight. some airlines/airports won't take it at all no matter how much you offer to pay if it's say over 100 pounds. at the same time, the other end of your flight may not even look at it and just send it through. it really depends. if you have to fly around in europe, bring your gigbag as a suitcase, stash your flight case somewhere and buy two tickets with the discount airlines. it can be sooo cheap if you buy right. however, allow plenty of time, they likely will not know exactly what to do with you at security. one other potential problem with this is that they may insist that your tuba be able to sit all the way on the floor instead of on the seat or wedged in beside you. if that's the case, a big one won't fit this way either. i got by ok with my rudy but i think that was more likely ignorance. i don't know.

as a side thought... airport coaches... if it's a big greyhound style coach with luggage bays underneath the bus, they may not even entertain the idea of you bringing your gigbagged instrument on the bus, even if you offer to pay. i've been turned down twice for this. first time i had to get my friend's dad to drive me 2 hrs to the airport at 5:30am (i was not refunded the money i had just paid the bus driver for the ticket), the next i fortunately was travelling with an empty hard case, in 3 minutes switched contents and put both under. in another case i was kicked off the bus after one stop when it got too full and forced to wait with then-girlfriend and tuba for the next, supposedly less loaded bus, it worked out ok but i wasn't flying then.

on planes i buy two seats and check my empty hard case when i fly discount airlines. it's a pain but it has worked so far.

I flew to and back from Dominican Republic a few weeks ago using American Airline and got charged $25 each way for overweight. I had the MW 2155 with the MW custom flight case, which weighed about 62 lbs. On the way back they gave me a hard time about the case/instrument and wouldn't take it at first. But after a few minutes of polite "sweet" talking, they accepted the case but they wanted to charge me $160! So I had to do more talking with them and they agreed to lowered the overweight fee to $25.

For both ways, right before handing over the case, I specifically asked them that I needed to be there if they ever need to inspect the content of the case and I locked up the case with their permission. My tuba survived without a scratch but the flight case is in a bad shape now (lots of scratches/dents and a lot of the paint is scratched off). I'm scared to know what the case went through with those luggage handlers... Thank god for a good flight case!

Traveling with a tuba got me a lot of attention at airports and I learned that the best way to get through those tricky businesses at airport is to be as polite as possible but at the same time, be firm with the requests.

Man, I tell ya.... I don't think I will ever get used to saying goodbye to my tuba at airports

This thread plus the experience I had with trying to buy a custom case for my 182 F, has further sold me on the fact that I don't want to travel with a tuba. I'm glad I don't do it for a living; it's a wonderful instrument but transporting it has unbelievable hassles.

MA

This thread interests me, because I am flying with my PT-20 from England to Malta July next year for concert tour with one of my bands. I am currently trying to decide if it is worth the considerable expense of a flight case, or to risk in its wooden hard case.

Anyone flown by Air Malta, or can say what they are like in this regard?

I couldn't believe it. I insured the instrument through my homeowner's policy and I figured I'd collect. They didn't even scuff the case.

If you are going to do this make sure you read the small print on your insurance VERY carefully. Many homeowner policies will happily take your tubas on, at your own valuation. However, many will also only cover it on your insured premises (your home), take it to a gig at your own risk. Also be very careful with your valuation even if it is covered off site. If the valuation is off then you are very likely to be stung, and hard. By this I don't mean just the valuation of your tuba but also everything else insured under the same policy: the nice big mirror in the hall you inherited, that snazzy leather sofa you got a good deal on... If you should make a claim they are likely to make thorough inspections, and if your valuations are out you're in for a bit of a ride. I'd suggest a specialist instrument insurance, and with a written valuation from a shop or repairman; it sounds a lot more complicated than it is! Often the specialist insurers will give you better deals on your insurance than would the non-specialists too. And have a chat with your local music shop or repairman, they are likely to be happy to write you out an 'official valuation' for this purpose, based on whatever price you say, at little or no cost (I got this from one of the country's most respected brass retailers, without having got the instrument through them, without them having seen the instrument, at the value I asked them to write, over the phone for no cost!).

The only problem I have experienced was a trip Manchester - Turin via Frankfurt. On the return trip my tuba stayed overnight in Frankfurt, and since I had registered it as tool essential for my job, I had the right to compensation for lost income if it was more than 24 hours delayed. The doorbell rang 23 hours 55 minutes after the claim was made. Damn!

When it comes to excess charges, different airlines have different policies. Personally I have found it more economical to travel with some more expensive airlines than to go with the no-frills budget ones: the budget airlines WILL charge for every pound over your allowed weight (normally 10 or 15 kgs as opposed to 20 or 25 kgs with more expensive airlines), whilst with the 'normal' airlines (British Airways, Lufthansa etc etc) you will find that the girl on the check-in desk will have more leeway in treating you nicely and letting you take it on with excess charges. Also in my experience I would advice against what some people say here, about contacting the airline first about the instrument. This will usually prove very costly indeed!

I have travelled relatively extensively with my tubas and have never had any other problems than what I mentioned above, and never been denied access to the flight, even when because of a severly delayed train I arrived at the check-in 5 minutes before the scheduled departure time, two tubas in hand... Thankfully that flight was delayed also!

Ola

I think I already told this one:

My tuba had just been overhauled and I was flying to Philadelphia to go to Fort Dix, New Jersey (January 1983). I paid for a seat for the tuba and had it in its gig bag, with my case being sent later. I was so careful not to damage the horn.

Everything was good until I got off the bus at Fort Dix and I slipped and fell on an ice puddle... on top of the tuba.

And this one is more recent...

I came here to Saigon with my 80+ year old Carl Fischer Eefer. I didn't take this one on the plane (I took TWO tubas) but, since it didn't have a case, I used an air conditioner box (my mother had just bought a new one). The big one was in a case and that never causes problems. The little one in the box... Well, when I got out of the airport, the taxi driver tried to cram the box into the front seat. Yowch!

Trying to get the man to let me put it in the front seat, he pushed me aside (this was HIS car! But it was MY tuba!) Fortunately, there was no damage.