Tuba as cargo?

[Dan Castillo]

Hello everyone. This is another "flying with tuba" thread....I notice that some airlines carry cargo to and from a given destination. This kind of stuff seems to includes mail, food, pets, human remains, etc.

I was wondering if anybody has ever tried to pass their tuba off as "cargo" and fly it with them to their destination in that way. This would bypass the check-in counter and possibly save a lot of money. Here are the rates quoted on Frontier's website

If your average tuba in a flight case is around 90lbs, at a rate of $0.76 per pound, this would be around $68, which is a lot less expensive than checking it as "oversize and overweight".

Any input on this is greatly appreciated. Hopefully some of you all have had good experiences.

[Ferguson]

A box the size of a tuba is billed by volume, not weight, so you'll find the true price to be higher. Also, due to new anti-terror rules, you may need to be a "known shipper" to get your horn on a plane as cargo.

AmTrak and Greyhound have reasonable cargo rates.

SF