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Anyanka
Prolific poster
She could tell you Jarvo, but then she may have to kill you.jarvo said:
Better not to ask.[/quote]
Too right.
When Im not hiding behind the name of a 2000-year old vengeance demon, my full initials are K. G. B.
Yes, really.
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Tiogair
Guest
I'm facing emigration to Canada in January and I'm bringing my Arietta with me. Still haven't found a bloody case or gig bag for it, and Hohner weren't helpful at all.
I flat refuse to put it in the cargo hold. It's too old (hopefully not too fragile), and deserves to be brought on with me.
I flat refuse to put it in the cargo hold. It's too old (hopefully not too fragile), and deserves to be brought on with me.
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PaulS
Guest
Hi folks
Do any of you lovely people have any experience of flying American Airlines to the US with your accordion?
I'll be taking a Weltmeister Stella, reading previous messages I see people taking larger varieties and I understand the airline might be sympathetic to carrying a musical instrument.
Just wondered if anyone had done the 'cross the pond' trip and if the airline gave you a hard time for wanting to carry your baby in the overhead stowage?
It could fit in my hard suitcase if necessary but still I don't trust.
Thanks in advance
Do any of you lovely people have any experience of flying American Airlines to the US with your accordion?
I'll be taking a Weltmeister Stella, reading previous messages I see people taking larger varieties and I understand the airline might be sympathetic to carrying a musical instrument.
Just wondered if anyone had done the 'cross the pond' trip and if the airline gave you a hard time for wanting to carry your baby in the overhead stowage?
It could fit in my hard suitcase if necessary but still I don't trust.
Thanks in advance
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Tiogair
Guest
Not yet. I will be moving to Canada in January, and I am apprehensive about how British Airways will view my accordion.
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PaulS
Guest
Tiogair said:
Seems like you might be okay with it mate;
Musical instruments on British Airways
and they say Where possible, well also try and accommodate instruments that are slightly larger... which seems more approachable than the American Airlines regulations for musical instruments info.
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Tiogair
Guest
Damn. I know BA wanted €1300 for an extra seat for my box.
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PaulS
Guest
No man, that's a rip off! From how I read it you would be within your entitlement, an Arietta seems to be about the same size as a Stella, so...
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Tiogair
Guest
Tell me about it.
I'll just book some return flights and not show up for them. Hella cheaper.
I'll just book some return flights and not show up for them. Hella cheaper.
donn
Prolific poster
I don't know if either of you are seriously contemplating buying an accordion fare, but ... I believe I've read anecdotal reports that even this "didn't fly" if you'll excuse the expression, when the cabin crew refused to go along with it. They're responsible for getting a planeload of people safely from point A to point B, and if some flight attendant gets spooked by the idea of a poorly secured, apparently heavy object in one of the seats, they can say "no" and everyone will back them up. (I've never heard of anyone trying it with an accordion, this was likely a tuba.)
In the US we have a law, or rather an act of Congress, that establishes some standards in support of musical instruments. Not sure how it would apply to a flight originating abroad. But they gave the responsible agency two years to implement, and I'm sure they'll take every minute of that, so it's irrelevant anyway. This was necessary mainly because of the capricious way the airlines have handled the matter when left to their own devices, and I suppose that in the interim there's no reason to expect any better of them. So ... good luck! Really it shouldn't be too bad - anecdotally anyway, most travel stories I've heard have been successful. (By the way, American Federation of Musicians union gets substantial credit for the legislation.)
If you carry an accordion on board, I suppose the main risk is that you'll be obliged to surrender it to a gate check, where someone carries it off to be stuffed in the hold. That's often thought to be relatively safe, but it depends. My bari sax got smashed that way. The flight crew carries most of the stuff - baby strollers, etc. - down from the cabin on this mobile staircase, but that thing also has a little slide, and if your item looks heavy and unmanageable, it may go down via the slide, which will likely be worse than anything that would have happened if you'd just checked it as normal baggage.
heard that someone once checked a tuba, on a flight to China, simply wrapped in bubble wrap - no case - and it arrived without a mark. I think that may have been a rather shrewd strategy, really, compared to the usual notion of a huge, unmanageable case that gives the appearance of being very robust - an appearance only, because it's very hard to pack a delicate item inside a case in a way that really protects it. Dropped from several feet, a tuba - or an accordion - will essentially damage itself inside the case. Despite their reputation, baggage handlers just want to get through the day and don't often really have any ambition to wreck your stuff, so if it looks a little fragile they may take it easy.
In the US we have a law, or rather an act of Congress, that establishes some standards in support of musical instruments. Not sure how it would apply to a flight originating abroad. But they gave the responsible agency two years to implement, and I'm sure they'll take every minute of that, so it's irrelevant anyway. This was necessary mainly because of the capricious way the airlines have handled the matter when left to their own devices, and I suppose that in the interim there's no reason to expect any better of them. So ... good luck! Really it shouldn't be too bad - anecdotally anyway, most travel stories I've heard have been successful. (By the way, American Federation of Musicians union gets substantial credit for the legislation.)
If you carry an accordion on board, I suppose the main risk is that you'll be obliged to surrender it to a gate check, where someone carries it off to be stuffed in the hold. That's often thought to be relatively safe, but it depends. My bari sax got smashed that way. The flight crew carries most of the stuff - baby strollers, etc. - down from the cabin on this mobile staircase, but that thing also has a little slide, and if your item looks heavy and unmanageable, it may go down via the slide, which will likely be worse than anything that would have happened if you'd just checked it as normal baggage.
heard that someone once checked a tuba, on a flight to China, simply wrapped in bubble wrap - no case - and it arrived without a mark. I think that may have been a rather shrewd strategy, really, compared to the usual notion of a huge, unmanageable case that gives the appearance of being very robust - an appearance only, because it's very hard to pack a delicate item inside a case in a way that really protects it. Dropped from several feet, a tuba - or an accordion - will essentially damage itself inside the case. Despite their reputation, baggage handlers just want to get through the day and don't often really have any ambition to wreck your stuff, so if it looks a little fragile they may take it easy.
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Tiogair
Guest
In all likelyhood, I will be able to bring it on as my hand luggage, since it's light enough to go in the cabin and the bag I've ordered meets airline specifications.
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