travel with bari

[baronvonmeskel]

In a few weeks I need to fly to Tuscon and I want to take my horn. I have travelled with a bari before, but it was always either my high school or college's horn. This trip I will be taking my own horn.

The problem is, I don't trust the baggage handlers. I have a Mt. Vernon case (the ones sold on this site) which is a copy of the Pro Tec case. In the past I always used the stock hard case, but I don't have one for this horn.

I can't afford to buy a new flight case, and I can't afford to buy a seat for the saxophone. What should I do to make sure my horn is safe? Does anybody think it will be safe to check in at the airport?

[Eulipion2]

When my college jazz band went to Europe, we had a few people who took their own horns in Pro-Tec cases and had no problems. Of course, our bari player used an Anvil case, which just led to many searches, as the case looked old and junky, and could very easily have contained a bomb. The price we pay for security...

[littlemanbighorn]

I would suggest packing it as one would for shipping. Stick the case in a cardboard box(You'll likely have to make one), surrounded by thick sheets of packing foam at least 2" thick. (Packing peanuts will work but are messy and annoying. Making the box double-thick isn't a bad idea nor is making an improvised handle of several layers of packing tape, so as to make it a little more manageable. Also, make sure your horn doesn't move around in the case, if it does add a little bit of foam rubber at the below the bottom of the bow, at the top of the S-curve and by the edge of the bell. If you can track down some key clamps for your Bari, they should also help stop the keys from shifting when bumped around.
You'll also have to pack some packing tape to reseal the package before your flight back, but don't pack scissors or a boxcutter in your carry-on ;)
You might have to pay extra for the size of the package, and ask for special handling (Which often doesn't mean anything).
No guarantees, but this is what the music store I used to work at did for shipping instruments.

[Randall]

GREAT advice Little!

[Ritchie]

the case looked old and junky, and could very easily have contained a bomb.

Why would anyone try to hide a bomb in something that looks like it was used to hide a bomb???

[Brendan Muse]

Well, it's like carrying a Tommygun in a violin case. Some people don't realize that you actually can't, in fact, get away with that sort of thing.

[super20dan]

unless you have to have the horn -i wouldnt risk it. get a anvil case if you have to fly with a bari.any thing less is asking for trouble. the airlines ruined my first super 20 tenor when i checked it as baggage once to often.

[Adam]

I had to fly to a gig last week on Southwest (my first time flying with them), and was dumbfounded at how laid back these guys were... I had originally planned to check my horn in an anvil case, but we ended up with some extra tickets, so I ended up having a seat for it and just brought it on board in my WJ case. However, it appears that the ticket was unnecessary (not to mention that it confused everyone from the security checkpoints to the gate). On all three legs of my trip (which were all full) the only grief I got was on the first flight where I was told upon entering the plane that I would have to check either my horn or my carry on (a couple of the trumpet players had to check suit bags because of this). When I told her I had a ticket for my horn she left me alone. I put my horn in the overhead (like I had always done pre 9/11) and that was that. I ended up sitting next to some stranger, so on the next two flights I actually put it in the seat next to me (since I did have a ticket for it...). Nobody seemed to care. I was asked if I had a ticket for it since it was in a seat (and they are counting bodies), but that was it. If you haven't flown on Southwest before, there are no seat assignments, so when you enter the jetway, they take your whole ticket, you aren't left with a stub which is kind of odd... When they asked me if I had a ticket for it I suppose I could have lied if I didn't... I didn't have any proof I did at that point. Anyway, there were eight horn players on this trip, and they didn't give anyone a hard time about instruments. It was a very, very different experience than I've had with any other airline. Kudos to Southwest!

[dirty]

Everytime I fly Southwest, they lose my baggage. Thank god i usually only travel with my clarinet and can carry it on.

[David Spiegelthal]

Just like littlebigmanhorn wrote. Two years ago I had to fly from Washington, DC to Florida with my bari, and I packed it as usual in its hard case, then packed horn + case in a cardboard box with a homemade handle on the top. This I checked as luggage (of course, since it was way too large to carry onboard.) This protected the horn fine, and also allowed Security to open the box up and verify that the instrument really was a Weapon of Musical Destruction and not the other (bad) type of WMD (they didn't check on the flight down but did on the return flight, leaving a nice note inside and doing no harm to the horn). Also, as said before, if you have to bring reed knives, screwdrivers, or the like, pack them in with the checked luggage and don't even THINK about carrying it on the plane with you.

[barisaxplayer]

I talked to Fred ho, and he travels with his bari. He sticks it in a gig bag(you know he's bein careful with it!) and places it in the overhead on planes. Definitely have to be careful with your horn in a gig bag, but it's a heck of a lot better than letting TSA mess with it and have lousy luggage handlers throw your horn around! I didn't hear about this till February, but it's a great thing to know. I haven't yet had the chance to try it myself, but apparently the gig bag allows you to take your horn onboard without paying for an extra ticket.

I use anvil cases, and I watch the TSA guys inspect my horn every time I go flying(you are allowed to watch them inspect) and the anvil cases are like a rock. My horn's been safe for the 4 times I've flown to and from places with it in cargo.

I'd like to have some more feedback on this from people that have done it hands on. Thanks!