[fluteloop]

hi guys,

i just heard that the airlines are getting much stricter this summer about letting you carry horns on. i'm flying jet blue austin to boston, then iceland air boston to amsterdam. i have a protec formed tenor case and hope being assertive and polite at the gate will allow me to carry it on. has anyone had any recent experiences with this? if i need a more substantial case, i need to get it quick, we leave july 16 and the only hard cases i've found in austin are the gators, i'm not sure they're really flight cases...

thanks
beth

 

[JonL]

Beth...a ProTec case should be more than enough. And a shaped tenor case fits perfectly well in the overhead compartment. Your tenor case will pale in comparison to the amount of luggage some of the passengers will take on board. It's been a year or so since I flew between Europe and the States, so if the rules are changing that much, your best bet is to call the airline and ask what their policy is. Don't bother asking the travel agent. They'll just tell you what they think you want to hear, and then you'll encounter the reality of the airports. The security people in Boston are idiots, but in Amsterdam they really know what they're doing. In any event, airplanes have closets where instruments can be stored as well. I've done the trip on several different airlines, and the general policy has been that you can carry on as much as you'll be able to fit in the overhead compartment, which you'll end up sharing with passengers near you. If for some pointless reason the airline tells you that you can't board with your horn, then don't take it! Grab something to play when you get there. If you put your horn through with the regular luggage, it will most likely be totally unplayable by the time you get there, regardless of what case you have.

I hope this doesn't sound too grim. Actually, you're going to love Amsterdam. The Dutch are great people. Have a great time.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Over the last year the security rules have been up and down like a yoyo. At one time it was nothing larger than a laptop bag, and neither politeness nor assertiveness (especially) would make the slightest difference. So you must check with the airline about dimensions.

BTW, it's not the gate that matters, if you are going to be stopped it will be at a security check well before the gate.

 

[fluteloop]

thanks guys. pretty much everything i've heard from other horn players in austin and all the threads on here said you can talk your way on board, etc. but then my repair guy came back from a conference full of new horror stories. well, of course, that's all he hears, he's the one who fixed that.

the other horn player in our band is much more assertive than i am, i'm counting on him to help make this happen. and he's had to gate check his horn once, with no problems. so getting stopped at security would be no good, hope we don't run into that.

we're really looking forward to it, i've never been to amsterdam, where we have a day off for "jetlag" - yay. then munich, and a festival in france, and back...

 

[AlistairD]

I'm in the US at the moment, having flown from the UK. There were lots of people being turned back at security for having more that 1 item of hand luggage.
Also, I hear stories of people in-transit through Heathrow having suddenly to convert two hand items into 1 to be allowed on the next flight so be careful if you are going through London.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I'm in the US at the moment, having flown from the UK. There were lots of people being turned back at security for having more that 1 item of hand luggage.
Also, I hear stories of people in-transit through Heathrow having suddenly to convert two hand items into 1 to be allowed on the next flight so be careful if you are going through London.

I can confirm that, they are extremely strict, probably more so now after last nights bomb. They have a box at security, and if your one item of hand luggage doesn't fit in the box you leave it behind or back to checkin and check it in (by which time you'd probably miss the plane).

But then, you might just be lucky.

 

[fluteloop]

well, i'm not flying thru london, but still. maybe i need to go back thru all those threads on flight cases and get something quick.. any preferences in that dept? i was about to try to get a sonore flute before the trip maybe, and getting a flight case will knock that out.