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I need help/advice in shipping a PT 6 to overseas at the end of the summer. I'm studying abroad in England for the Fall Semester 2012 and am seriously in need of advice from someone who has flown before with instruments.

Is it better to ship with a UPS/FedEx or with an airline?
Which is cheapest/safest?
What is the best way to ship if I don't own a flight case?
What is the best design to make one?
Can I rent a flight case?
Will anyone loan me one?

Thanks for the help!
Dan

The best way to get a large instrument aboard is to fly with it, not put it underneath, but to fly with it. I was in Turkey in January and on the flight back a cellist had his instrument and case in his bulkhead seat the whole time. This seems to be the best option, especially considering you do not have a flight case. The other option would be to build a padded crate (I believe some people on here have done this before) and put it underneath.

You said the magic word: "ship".

Ship it. Do not take it as "luggage". Airlines are good at moving people - they are not good at handling packages.

Follow bloke's advice on packing it:

a) in a gig bag
b) wrapped in bubblewrap
c) in a cardboard carton
d) filled with air pillows

Save what you can (and start looking when you arrive for supplies you will need to ship it back).

Ship "from business to business" - arrange for someone to take delivery on the carton when it arrives (each way). Shipping to residences or individuals costs extra. Any school should have a shipping&receiving department, and with enough lead time you can find out how to get it to someone who will hold it for you to pickup (and help you ship it back).

Talk to the shipping company BEFORE you start to gather packaging supplies. Having them do the final packing (carton, air pillows) might be a good idea. Take care of packing the tuba in the gig bag and wrapping it with bubble wrap yourself. Ideally, it should look like a bubble-wrap egg before going in the carton.

An alternative to bubblewrap is a double-carton. Pack a "snug" carton, and then put that in the middle of a larger carton (several inches bigger on all sides), with the space between the cartons filled with your favorite filler material (air pillows, peanuts, crumpled up newspaper...)
This method is problematic for shippers with tight SIZE constraints, but would be my first choice if size were not a serious issue. HINT: if you don't have several INCHES of packing material surrounding your tuba on ALL sides...your package is too small, anyway.

If you get a chance, look at how FedEx ships laptops. It might give you some ideas on how to protect the cargo.

If you are only going for one semester then ask the college/uni where you will be studying if they have a tuba that you can borrow. Alternatively, see if join a local brass band (not one of the big, famous ones), if there is one as they are likely to own tubas for members to borrow. Where are you going?