Flying internationally with trombone

[izMadman]

Thanks for the tips, John! Detachable case sounds like a good option for navigating different transportation modes. And genius idea about the tracker, I'll definitely consider that for my next trip

[brtnats]

Not my trombone, BUT…

I flew half way across the USA and back recently with my banjo in a hard case, which takes up at least as much space as my Cronkhite bags, and I’ve learned the following:

1. Being polite but direct makes a difference.
2. Packing your instrument as if it will be unexpectedly checked really helps for the unexpected. 3 our of 4 times recently, I got my “that needs to be checked” big instrument and case onto the plane and into the plane’s “closets.” The 1/4 time it got gate-checked into the luggage carousel, it was fine because I packed it well in a hard case. I really think this is the best of all worlds: Get it on the plane, regardless of the gate agents, and then pack it well enough so that the plane’s crew asks you to gate-check it to your final destination. The moral of the story here is to over-prepare in most circumstances.

[harrisonreed]

Fly JAL or ANA if you can. They have instrument flight cases and different rules about handling instruments.

[Digidog]

Fly JAL or ANA if you can. They have instrument flight cases and different rules about handling instruments.

I flew ANA a couple of years ago, and they let my guitars and trombones fly in a separate compartment for delicate goods. I got to load - and unload - it all myself, on the tarmac before boarding, in a luggage compartment with snap-locked safety boxes of different sizes in the front of the aircraft, slightly behind and beneath the cockpit (I think it also was a heated compartment, since the cases didn't feel cold when I unloaded them at Narita). SAS and KLM have also let me do similar packings with my instruments, while Air France, British Airways and Lufthansa have been more difficult to negotiate with; though I came to acceptable solutions with them too, but not as accomodating as this was.

Still: When I fly with any of my instruments, be it guitars or trombones, I always pack them in flight cases. I have some old Selmer trombone flight cases and two newer Accord dittos, and though they are cumbersome and irregularly shaped, they have more than once really saved me and my instruments.

The real trick of flying with instruments, is to bring as few, as light, and as small as possible at every time.

[harrisonreed]

Fly JAL or ANA if you can. They have instrument flight cases and different rules about handling instruments.

I flew ANA a couple of years ago, and they let my guitars and trombones fly in a separate compartment for delicate goods. I got to load - and unload - it all myself, on the tarmac before boarding, in a luggage compartment with snap-locked safety boxes of different sizes in the front of the aircraft, slightly behind and beneath the cockpit (I think it also was a heated compartment, since the cases didn't feel cold when I unloaded them at Narita.

It hits different when you fly with a company that gives a care about the people and things they are transporting, and then fly again with a company that does not.

[blast]

Well, just took a Rath from UK to US and back...in a cheap Chinese case...in the hold. Mad ?? Possibly, but I had no damage at all. I put the valve section in one of our suitcases and packed the bell and slide with clothes. Job done. Those Chinese cases are pretty protective...and cheap.

[DougHulme]

I'd second Blasts comments. Also I had an amusing (well it is now several years later) incident whilst flying to an ITF in Salt Lake with my trombone. I put it in the hold at Heathrow. The connecting flight was via Chicago. In Chicago you were required to collect your baggage from one carousel personally and transfer it to another to your destination. So I had my trombone in my hands in the USA as I changed belts. When I got to Salt lake City I waited and waited and waited some more for my trombone to appear... it didnt! They said they could see it was still in transit and they would deliver it to me at my hotel. When I eventually got to the hotel there was a message waiting to say they had located my trombone... it was at Heathrow airport! They also said they would deliver it to my hotel by Sunday (ITF finishing on Sunday). At my request they delivered it the same day back to my home in England, much to my wifes amusement. Thank you to Steve Shires (who was still Steve Shires in those days!!) for lending me a horn off of his trade stand. My horn in question was in a Bonna case and was the George Roberts single valve Kanstul - made it to and back from the USA all on its own without any damage. The counselling I received meant I was emotionally unharmed by the experience too!!... Doug