Flying Updates

[ASTuba]

I am going to be flying to Houston in the spring, and I'm just checking to see if anyone has had any new experiences, both positive and negative, with any specific airline lately with regards to flying.

I'll be bringing 2 tubas with me for this trip.

[ASTuba]

Nothing at all? Any better airlines to travel on with tubas than others?

[tubalamb]

As of Sept. 1, Continental has weight restrictions of 70 lbs, meaning they will not allow any baggage over 70 lbs on the plane. I found this unfortunate news out when I tried to fly with 4/4 Nirschl in a Walt Johnson case, which happened to be at 72 lbs.

The good news is the industry standard is 99 lbs, so almost all other airlines will allow the case on for a oversize/overweight charge (or both!). Fees usually start at 50 lbs with an increase at 70 lbs.

Good luck!

Steve "Who will never fly Continental again!" Lamb

[Tom Holtz]

Research your airline's baggage policy, print out anything definitive, and be prepared to pull it out and show the person at the counter the rules in black and white. You'll be able to save yourself the overweight fees if your axe is under 50 lbs.

Sadly, it's not going to get better anytime soon.

[ASTuba]

My lack of knowledge in this leads to one question: Do you have to pay two fees if you have a connecting flight?

[ZNC Dandy]

If you have Frequent FLyer, or other such mileage,why not cash some in, and get an extra ticket so your horn can ride in the seat next to you? May not work for a hard case, but it certainly will for a bag.

[Rick Denney]

If you have Frequent FLyer, or other such mileage,why not cash some in, and get an extra ticket so your horn can ride in the seat next to you? May not work for a hard case, but it certainly will for a bag.

I've heard this advice a lot. Now, the question: How do you do it? To put that tuba in the seat next to you, it 1.) has to fit, 2.) had to be able to be secured, and 3.) has to get through security. Item 3 further requires that it fit through the X-ray machine. Of course, nowadays you can forget bringing your valve oil with you.

I fly all the time and I have never understood how one would carry in its own seat in actual practice. I cannot imagine the response of the typical TSA goon, especially at a regional airport (I get much more of the "I'm in charge" attitude at the little airports than at airports like Dulles), to me asking to have my Holton inspected in its gig bag.

Long before the current tightened security, I tried to carry my Yamaha 621 aboard a Southwest flight from San Antonio to Dallas. No go. I got it through security, but they would not allow me to bring it on the plane, and I was then faced with the choice of either checking it or forfeiting my ticket. I would not want to face that choice standing at security or at the gate with a dozen-kilobuck grand orchestral tuba in a gig bag.

Rick "who would like to hear from people who have actually done this recently" Denney

[ASTuba]

If I fly, I will probably pack my clothes around my tubas in their respective flight cases, to avoid an extra bag charge.

Andy "Trying to find a cheap flight to Houston from Syracuse or other NY airports" Smith

[fireatwil]

Hi Andy,

I just got back from Seattle. Frontier Airlines was great. No damage to my horn at all. Just a few scuffs on my case (the hard case that came with my 56J). They did not charge any additional oversize fee either way. They were very careful with my horn. I flew from Atlanta with a stop over and plane change in Denver. The stop over in Denver was only about 30 minutes and they managed to get my bags and tuba transfered just fine both ways.

You need to wait at the TSA inspection of your horns (they will let you stand there while they inspect). They (the TSA folks) were very careful and listened to me when I offered instructions on opening the case and taking the horn out for inspection, as well as repacking.

I was very nervous, but everything went very well. Frontier was great.

Willie (Stockbridge Ga)

[katfey]

they will let you stand there while they inspect

Be careful about this - it depends on the airport and personnel

Often I have been able to watch. Sometimes they take it to another area to inspect. At National Airport, when I said I wanted to watch, they told me they would have me arrested if I continued to stay within viewing range.

On another flight the inspectors only closed one latch back after inspection. Luckily it was a Walt Johnson case and it held!

[Bove]

If you have Frequent FLyer, or other such mileage,why not cash some in, and get an extra ticket so your horn can ride in the seat next to you? May not work for a hard case, but it certainly will for a bag.

I've heard this advice a lot. Now, the question: How do you do it? To put that tuba in the seat next to you, it 1.) has to fit, 2.) had to be able to be secured, and 3.) has to get through security. Item 3 further requires that it fit through the X-ray machine. Of course, nowadays you can forget bringing your valve oil with you.

I fly all the time and I have never understood how one would carry in its own seat in actual practice. I cannot imagine the response of the typical TSA goon, especially at a regional airport ....

Rick "who would like to hear from people who have actually done this recently" Denney

Bringing a tuba on a plane when you have purchased a ticket for it is really easy. I do this every time I fly.

Buy the ticket as normal, if doing it online just use the first name "Tuba" and your last name. Get a window seat for the tuba, ideally in the last row of the plane... and get your seat right next to it.

If you have trouble buying a ticket for a tuba on the phone, tell them it's a cello. Sometimes it's also called COSB- carry on seat baggage or something. In fact, a good rule of thumb is that at any time if they ever mistakenly refer to it as a cello at any point in your flying process, just nod. (they are used to cellos) Cellos and Basses (!?) are specifically mentioned in the pilots FAA regulation book as being ok to go in seats.

When checking in, mention the tuba, and make sure you have a window seat for it.

At security, flash your two tickets and explain you have a seat for your tuba... and if they do not have an enormous x-ray (some do actually) they will hand check the tuba and case, with you standing right there to advise them how to handle the instrument, open the case, etc.

When boarding, flash your two tickets again, and politely ask for a seatbelt extension for your tuba.

At this point they may have some weird rules like: Tuba must be in row one, or tuba must be in the very last row of the plane. In this case, go with the flow and they will get it done. The pilot has the final say about what is ok and what is not, but each airline has their own rule about where seat baggage goes.

In Row one, you can put it on the floor, with the bell up, resting on the window seat. The seatbelt extension goes around the bell and through the straps or handles on your gig bag.

In the back row, you can put it in the seat on the bell, upside down. The seatbelt extension wraps around the body and through your gig bag straps.

In both of these positions, the tuba is very securely tied down and will make the flight attendant happy if they want to pull on it a bit and see how little it moves.

Enjoy your flight. And enjoy all the conversation with other customers who will want to chat with you about your tuba.

[eupher61]

The AF of M has been dealing with this very issue. I'm not up on the very latest, but they've been making headway with most airlines. I'll try to find the most recent update.

[Erin]

Don't lock your case.

I flew to Denver from Nova Scotia in August. It was my first time on an international flight with a tuba. I checked my F tuba in a flight case with a combination lock. Imagine my surprise when upon my arrival at Logan International in Boston, I was paged across the entire airport. Just before my flight started boarding, someone decided they wanted to see what was in the big box. Simple enough, right? Give the ticket agent the combination to the case, board my flight, hope for the best.

Not quite. A piece of the lock on this particular case is busted. You have to stick something sharp in it and pull to the left to get it open. I had to explain this to someone on the phone, who then had to relay the message to someone in the cargo department. When the flight took off, I had no idea if my tuba was even on it.

When I got to Denver (after another stop in Georgia) I had to wait nearly an hour before I even got to see the horn.

I was only charged a $25 oversize fee each way. On the way back to Halifax Delta busted the wheels off the borrowed flight case I was using (which I'm still trying to find replacements for) but other than that, everything was fine.

Regarding the original poster's question about flying to Houston: Why not save yourself some cash and worry and simply ship both tubas using a freight carrier like BAX Global? That's what I'll likely do on my next two tuba excursion.

PS- almost every time I post a message on this forum my teacher emails me with some smart arse comment about how I should be spending my time practicing rather than posting on TubeNet. Hi, Teacher! Don't worry, your flight case is in good hands!

[UTTuba_09]

I have an article on my website about flying with tubas, based upon my own experiences, hope it helps!

http://www.hammytuba.com/mysite1280x102 ... 0Horns.pdf