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Hi All!

I have an opportunity to play some music over in Europe this coming summer but I'm unsure what to do about my instrument. Ideally, I'd like to take my horn (it's a 3/4 CC) but I would have to invest in a heavy-duty case. Has anyone done this before? Also, what's the customs situation? I'm not going to have a work visa. Another option is to rent a horn but what are the chances I can readily find another CC? I'll probably have to play a full-size too, I assume. I can play BBb still, but not as fast and chances are I won't be able to find a BBb horn to practice on before I go over. Blah.

Anyways, I'd appreciate some thoughtful insight/advice! Thanks!

A normal hard case with some duck tape around any vulnerable points on the outside and bubble wrap on the inside with a strap securing the outside should be fine for your tuba to go into an aircraft hold. Has worked for me going around Europe and Asia in the past.

Over here they seem to be much nicer to horns than in the states. I took a Geneva Eb tuba in its Besson copy case from Germany to Russia with no damage. They only charged an extra 50 euros each way too. Renting a tuba will be hard. Where in Europe are you going? That will help us out a lot.

So, do you have a case already? What condition is it in? Chances are it would be fine, but instead of investing lots of money in a big new case you might use infrequently consider instrument insurance-it's not that expensive.

There should be no problem with your horn and customs unless it gets packed with booze and souvenirs that aren't declared. But, of course, nobody on tube net has ever done that before.

Fwiw, I flew from Alaska to Chicago with a Miraphone F in the plain black plastic case it came with. It came through with just a small dent in the bottom bow. I wasn't so happy about that and it wasn't supposed to be have been flown back, but it could have been far worse!

Thanks for the input! I'll do a forum search too! We'll mostly be traveling in the UK but we might do a few shows in Italy and possibly Poland. I'm pretty picky about my horn so the idea of it getting dented is stressful. The case I have for it is the factory one... typical hard plastic and does the trick for around town. But it's getting cracks around the bell area and I've patched it a couple times with duct tape already.

So in my opinion just stick with your case, small cracks won't affect the protection. A good flight case is over $1,000. I use a huge Walt Johnson (and my F fits in the gig bag in the case). But that's $1,200 (and I think $250 shipping) and anywhere from $0 to $150 per leg of trip extra charges. It's the ultimate in protection and it's beat up by the airlines so much I've actually ordered a replacement. But I don't pay for any of that-my job does-so if it's your money I would just trust your case. I've used the cheap and small factory (B&S) case several times with no problems. But that's just my opinion and advice. Just don't forget about music instrument insurance. $100-$200 per year can put your mind at ease.

Hi - a good flight case is expensive… but often times a good standard (molded plastic, not wood) case will do fine. It depends on your horn vs your case. Make sure you pack it so it does not move at all, make it as tight in the case as possible. Also, put instructions/pictures inside the case for them to put it back in correctly, should anyone need to remove it. We've all heard Al Baer's story about the upside down horn. Inside the lid I tape both handling and packing instructions as well as a photo of the horn in the case. I also tape down all hardware on the outside of the case that could get caught or broken off with gaffers tape. (I always carry a roll and 'prep' the case when I get to the airport)

A big part of the equation is also overage charges. Fortunately, for most non-USA carriers (avoid United, Delta, etc at all costs) flying internationally with a tuba is actually EASIER than flying domestically. Most cutoffs are 50 lbs, sometimes 40lbs, and almost all tubas are over the maximum dimension combination for most (but not all) airlines. Also the cutoffs seem to be somewhat flexible, and are enforced by the counterperson at will, where you check in your luggage.

I can't recommend British Airlines highly enough. As far as this writing, and knock on a HUGE piece of wood, they are the only airline that does not have overage charges for musical instruments. They have a special exception. They've also been super to deal with any time I have had issues.
Check the current details and policies online, but there are a few important caveats I have learned:
1.) Your horn has to be your ONLY checked baggage. Carry everything else on. If you try to check a suitcase in addition, they will charge the **** out of you for your horn. It's a loophole.
2.) Allow at least 3-4 hours of changeover time for Heathrow. You have to manually make sure you open up the layover time when booking the flight. Less than that and I can almost GUARANTEE your horn won't make it to the next flight. When the layover is under 2 hours, pretty much like clockwork, the horn gets delayed by at least one flight. Fortunately, they seem to take pretty good care of it.
Simply book a long layover; there is a good Asian restaurant in Heathrow called Wagamama, sit back and have a leisurely lunch while you allow plenty of time for them to switch your horn from flight to flight with no worries
3.) Do not lock your case, they will break it open.
4.) Don't try to book flights that switch from Heathrow to Gatwick, just don't! Or if you do, give yourself an EIGHT (yes I said eight) hour layover.
5.) Always try to check in at least 2 hours before your flight.

Customs to Western Europe is usually not an issue. To them, and fortunate for you, most European countries are pretty familiar with tubas… and musicians. They are looked at in a much higher light than stateside. There are stories of people with customs issues, but they usually deal with multimillion dollar violins and guitars made of certain contraband woods.
To Canada is a different story…

One more thing, get horn insurance. I use Music Pro and I have had good luck with them. It's not expensive and is worth it for the peace of mind.

Hi, i was traveling this summer from Europe to USA and back. On my way there i had a big cardboard box filled with air-bubbles and my tuba in the middle. Guess what,it didn't helped,the customs opened it and put it back randomly. So on my second flight from NY to DEN it got damaged. On my way back i bought Johnson flight case. It is a great case,but it's too heavy. Tha US airports have policy which doesn't provides medical insurance if they lift things heavier than 32kg(and my tuba with the flight case weighted 41kg) so on my way back,i had to pay for cargo(650$,which they refunded cause the tuba was late). All i can say is good luck.

Recently went from U.K to the UAE with my Tuba. A new case with some tape and bubblewrap and everything went smoothly even with the case being locked. However I've heard of people taking the same route and for there tubas to be badly dented. I cannot praise both British airways and Emirates enough for travelling with Tuba. Custimer services are excellent and the horn is safe in the hold. But all of this is all partly down to luck so good luck and all the best with your tuba travels