EmilyGF Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Since a family with allergies was forced off an airplane, it made me think of Rachel Barton Pine being forced off because of trying to bring her multi-million dollar violin with her as a carry on. (I recognize that allergies can be life threatening and this is different, but it reminds me how fickle pilots are allowed to be.) http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-rachel-barton-pine-violin-airline-met-20160428-story.html Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 We've carried ds's guitar onto many flights, including American Airlines. I'm glad we've never had a problem. I think it's worth remembering that the pilot has the final say on who is allowed to fly on her plane, no matter what the regulations say, and that keeping the flight attendants and people who work at the gate on your side can make a huge difference if the pilot is concerned. A friend of mine was very nearly not allowed to board an international flight when she was pregnant despite a doctor's note and all following all the rules, simply because the pilot wasn't willing to take the risk (she looks further along than she is when she's pregnant). Since she was flying home, it would have been a major problem if she hadn't boarded that flight because her family wouldn't have been there and the baby would have been born in a different country than they'd planned which causes all sorts of hassles. Keeping the gate attendant on her side and not getting angry made all the difference. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 We've carried ds's guitar onto many flights, including American Airlines. I'm glad we've never had a problem. I think it's worth remembering that the pilot has the final say on who is allowed to fly on her plane, no matter what the regulations say, and that keeping the flight attendants and people who work at the gate on your side can make a huge difference if the pilot is concerned. A friend of mine was very nearly not allowed to board an international flight when she was pregnant despite a doctor's note and all following all the rules, simply because the pilot wasn't willing to take the risk (she looks further along than she is when she's pregnant). Since she was flying home, it would have been a major problem if she hadn't boarded that flight because her family wouldn't have been there and the baby would have been born in a different country than they'd planned which causes all sorts of hassles. Keeping the gate attendant on her side and not getting angry made all the difference. I almost got booted from an international flight while 34 weeks pregnant. Thankfully, I speak German and was able to convince the doctor at Frankfurt International to let me on! (I felt I could convince him better in his language than mine!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 That is completely bizarre. I traveled with a youth orchestra this summer overseas and there were like 30 violins, violas, and guitars and they hardly got a hassle. A stewardess took someone's violin to stash it but a teacher complained and got it back. People must travel with instruments like that all the time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 I am close with many musicians that must fly. It is usually not a big deal but they do have to be careful to buy the cases that are thinner so they fit in the overhead bins of the smaller planes. We took this into consideration when buying dd's last case because she will have to fly with it. The cello players I know have to buy a seat for their cellos. They used to get away with stashing it in an empty seat but that has changed on most airlines within the last few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 We've flown with violins a bunch of times - mostly on Air Canada. Apparently Air Canada now allows priority boarding for people who are carrying on instruments so that they can be sure to find room in the overhead bins. We've always had good experiences. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I used to regularly fly with instruments, and never had trouble with them as a carry on, except on the tiniest planes-my saxophone once ended up flying in the crew closet because there was no other space for it. Having said that, that was back in the days where airlines seemed more customer focus. The biggest problems I had were that saxophones and flutes give interesting shadows on X-rays, and especially right after 9-11, I really had to allow extra time for screening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 We've flown quite a bit over the years with a violin and sometimes with a guitar as well. Never had a problem getting the violin onboard. Ds once had a problem with his guitar when flying on his own. The person checking him in tried to make him gate check it but he simply took the tag and walked to the plane where an attendant helped him put it in a closet. Flew with uilleann pipes and a fiddle this past trip but I had Priority boarding so was put on the plane near the beginning of boarding and no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I have a friend who is driving to upstate NY from ATL for a long weekend because he won't take his cello on a plane. Since they are driving, they are taking the harp, too. They are playing for a wedding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Keeping the gate attendant on her side and not getting angry made all the difference. We've gotten out of a few international scrapes - including arriving at a border post with an expired passport - because we always keep our cool and mind our manners. The importance of this really can't be overestimated! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Wow. Dd and her dh have never had trouble traveling with their instruments--they just got back from Germany and he's flying back from Colombia today. Dd always puts hers in front of her on the floor and then flips her skirt over it (she always travels in a skirt for this reason). I think he puts his in the overhead. Dd has to put one in the overhead when she's traveling with her modern and her Baroque. She straps a small fanny pack on one so it counts as her "personal item". The only time dd ever really had trouble was when one TSA person freaked out about the dial hygrometer in her case. He made her take the violin out and play it! The agent got part of a Bach cantata. :lol: I had to do that with a saxophone once (during the height of the first Gulf War) :). They got Maurice Whitney's Introduction and Samba. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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