Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

The bulk of the musical talk
User avatar
Peach
4 valves
4 valves
Posts: 701
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 8:42 am
Location: London, UK

Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by Peach »

Chunk or two of stainless in hand luggage? Guessing this is a no no?
I won't have a bag or tuba in the hold, no.

Thanks for any wisdom!
Peach
User avatar
Jerryleejr
3 valves
3 valves
Posts: 361
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:31 am

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by Jerryleejr »

I've never had an issue, I'm guessing as long as it's not ticking you should be good.but you could always ask at the desk before checking your bags.

JJ
Kanstul 991 Custom
Always room for more....
User avatar
bort
6 valves
6 valves
Posts: 11223
Joined: Wed Sep 22, 2004 11:08 pm
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by bort »

Peach wrote:Chunk or two of stainless in hand luggage? Guessing this is a no no?
I won't have a bag or tuba in the hold, no.

Thanks for any wisdom!
The most trouble I ever had:
TSA pulled my bag off the belt, removed the mouthpiece, and asked me what it was. I said "tuba mouthpiece." One of the agents said "oh, okay." The other agent said "what?" to which the first agent replied in a snarky tone "musical instrument, man."

I doubt you'd have much trouble, unless you put little pieces of putty, batteries, wires, and a countdown clock on it. :P
Michael Bush
FAQ Czar
Posts: 2338
Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 2:54 pm

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by Michael Bush »

I've flown with mouthpieces in my computer/all purpose carry around bag many times, only a couple of times intentionally. They have never elicited any comment, at least none that made its way to me.
User avatar
Peach
4 valves
4 valves
Posts: 701
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 8:42 am
Location: London, UK

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by Peach »

Well, not what I expected!
Any other experiences welcomed...
Peach
TheGoyWonder
4 valves
4 valves
Posts: 565
Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2015 8:11 am

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by TheGoyWonder »

"Is that for trumpet or trombone?"
zeb
bugler
bugler
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Dec 10, 2006 11:48 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by zeb »

Yep, flown with a mouthpiece in my laptop bag a few times in the last year with no problems or questions at all.
jsswadley
pro musician
pro musician
Posts: 90
Joined: Thu Apr 29, 2004 5:11 pm

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by jsswadley »

I have travelled quite often with mouthpieces in my carry-on. No one has ever even asked anything, except for an agent on the British side of the Eurostar train to Brussels. He just wanted to know what it was. Flying, no one has ever even cared. True that airlines have a great deal of contempt, generally, for musical instruments. John
UDELBR
Deletedaccounts
Deletedaccounts
Posts: 1567
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:07 am

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by UDELBR »

Probably 50 flights with my mouthpiece in carry-on. I've been asked about it each and every time.
User avatar
sloan
On Ice
On Ice
Posts: 1827
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:34 pm
Location: Nutley, NJ

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by sloan »

Peach wrote:Chunk or two of stainless in hand luggage? Guessing this is a no no?
I won't have a bag or tuba in the hold, no.

Thanks for any wisdom!
Never been an issue for me. I get hassled more by a credit-card-sized multi-tool in my wallet, but only because it has a blade-shaped (but blunt) piece on it. It always gets spotted on X-Ray, and then accepted immediately when handled. Camera lenses sometimes trigger an inspection. No one has ever singled out a tuba mouthpiece..

Best way to deal with TSA is to be cool and casual. Don't get stressed out if they want to search or swab your bag. If they say "no" to something, they will take it, and you can't change their mind then and there - so just don't try. My most serious loss was a set of calipers in my hand luggage (not to USA TSA - to Dutch security in AMS).
Kenneth Sloan
User avatar
iiipopes
Utility Infielder
Utility Infielder
Posts: 8582
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2005 1:10 am

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by iiipopes »

A couple of weeks ago my band had its annual Mexico trip. I took a pocket trumpet. What Mexico authorities were more concerned about was the small bottle of valve oil, which I had to demonstrate. As set forth above - stay calm, pleasant, cooperative.
Jupiter JTU1110
"Real" Conn 36K
User avatar
sloan
On Ice
On Ice
Posts: 1827
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 10:34 pm
Location: Nutley, NJ

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by sloan »

iiipopes wrote:A couple of weeks ago my band had its annual Mexico trip. I took a pocket trumpet. What Mexico authorities were more concerned about was the small bottle of valve oil, which I had to demonstrate. As set forth above - stay calm, pleasant, cooperative.
Absolutely - liquids are a no-no. They will attract attention every time.
Kenneth Sloan
User avatar
AndyCat
3 valves
3 valves
Posts: 484
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 4:11 am
Location: Preston, UK
Contact:

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by AndyCat »

Peach, no problems a couple of weeks ago.
Andy Cattanach, UK
Fodens Band, Intrada Brass Ensemble.
Yamaha Neo BBb x 2 (2011 and 2016), B+H 3v Imperial BBb.
Yamaha YBL613H Bass Trombone.
Mercer and Barker MB5 Cattanach, Yeo Signature Mouthpieces.
hduong
bugler
bugler
Posts: 92
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:26 am
Location: Bay Area,CA

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by hduong »

never had any issues with airport security with my mouthpieces. Hell, I forgot I had my trumpet mouthpiece in my bag until I saw it on the xray screen. I've had more trouble with my laptop then mouthpieces.
User avatar
Peach
4 valves
4 valves
Posts: 701
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 8:42 am
Location: London, UK

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by Peach »

AndyCat wrote:Peach, no problems a couple of weeks ago.
Good news Andy as I'm also considering a trip to Hamburg (Gronitz in my case)... =)

Thanks!
Peach
TheBerlinerTuba
3 valves
3 valves
Posts: 315
Joined: Tue Jun 01, 2004 6:45 pm

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by TheBerlinerTuba »

Hallo Peach,

Bort is correct. As long as it doesn't look like this, you should be ok.
IMG_7890.JPG
Flown for years with mouthpieces, and never had a problem although they wanted to know what it was.

Safe travels,
TheBerlinerTuba
User avatar
bububassboner
pro musician
pro musician
Posts: 648
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 1:16 am
Location: Sembach, Germany

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by bububassboner »

Yep flown more times than I can count for work and never had an issue. I always carried it in my pocket. I had one guy ask me to "play it" once. I buzzed a little tune and they all laughed and I was on my way. I've taken my blokepiece all over the world.
Big tubas
Little tubas
Army Strong
Go Ducks!
ArnoldGottlieb
4 valves
4 valves
Posts: 515
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 8:33 pm
Location: Charleston, SC

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by ArnoldGottlieb »

Always works for me, I also love traveling with kelly plastic mouthpieces because of the reduced weight.
User avatar
Peach
4 valves
4 valves
Posts: 701
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2005 8:42 am
Location: London, UK

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by Peach »

TheBerlinerTuba wrote:Hallo Peach,

Bort is correct. As long as it doesn't look like this, you should be ok.
IMG_7890.JPG

Flown for years with mouthpieces, and never had a problem although they wanted to know what it was.

Safe travels,
TheBerlinerTuba
Haha. I'll leave all that equipment at home this time...

Thanks chaps. It's good to hear from a few European based players with their experiences. Appreciated all.

Also glad to know the world hasn't gone *completely* insane yet...
Peach
User avatar
Donn
6 valves
6 valves
Posts: 5977
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2005 3:58 pm
Location: Seattle, ☯

Re: Mouthpiece in hand luggage?

Post by Donn »

TheBerlinerTuba wrote:As long as it doesn't look like this, you should be ok.
None of mine look like that - by the way, what is that mouthpiece?
Post Reply