airline restrictions about musical instruments

[daisychain 0]

Hi. I'm hoping someone could help me. I have two violins, both of which are very important to me. The other is an antique given to me as a gift a year ago and the other is a violin that I saved up for as a gift to myself on my 18th birthday and which a famous violinist personally chose for me. I can't stand the thought of letting both go. =(

The biggest box I can send to the US via manila forwarder is 24"x18"x24" but my violins are 30 inches long (including the leather case). I was thinking of putting both either in my carry-on luggage or check-in luggage but I'm not sure if that would cause problems and it might drastically weigh it down. The case of the antique violin is made of heavy leather with metal latches.

What do u guys think? I feel a bit helpless because there are some people asking me to give my violin away (to them) since I can't bring it to the US. If I leave it here, I'll never see it again. Insights please =(

[Carlawarla 1]

First off, I'd go to the airline website and see what it says about transporting musical instruments. If there is nothing on the website, call the. I don't know that I'd put it in my suitcase. They throw those around like crazy! I have seen hunters, fisherman, skiiers, who seem to be able to have "special handling" of those types of luggage. I'm sure they pay extra for it, but when I've seen them go to the counter, they're only in the cases that the items enclose.

If these are precious instruments, I'd pay to have them shipped seperately if you can't get them on the plane.

You might be paying a lot extra, but if these items are special, it's well worth it.

Edited August 18, 2008 by Carlawarla

[filirican 3]

First off, I'd go to the airline website and see what it says about transporting musical instruments. If there is nothing on the website, call the. I don't know that I'd put it in my suitcase. They throw those around like crazy! I have seen hunters, fisherman, skiiers, who seem to be able to have "special handling" of those types of luggage. I'm sure they pay extra for it, but when I've seen them go to the counter, they're only in the cases that the items enclose.

If these are precious instruments, I'd pay to have them shipped seperately if you can't get them on the plane.

You might be paying a lot extra, but if these items are special, it's well worth it.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

i wanna take my two too, ones a family antique that has heavy case and the other is modern electric which is quite light even with case and all. although i could leave them here with my mum and dad at a later date, i would like to at least bring one with me. i thought i have seen people with instruments with them at airports but i couldn't work out if they checked them in or carried them on ( the later i'm sceptical about with the dimension restrictions. just tried the ba site and got stuck, thought if anyone cares thouse with excess luggage they are suggesting you pay on line in advance and get discount.. i will carry on looking. please share if you find anything out.

[payxibka 10,045]

Hi. I'm hoping someone could help me. I have two violins, both of which are very important to me. The other is an antique given to me as a gift a year ago and the other is a violin that I saved up for as a gift to myself on my 18th birthday and which a famous violinist personally chose for me. I can't stand the thought of letting both go. =(

The biggest box I can send to the US via manila forwarder is 24"x18"x24" but my violins are 30 inches long (including the leather case). I was thinking of putting both either in my carry-on luggage or check-in luggage but I'm not sure if that would cause problems and it might drastically weigh it down. The case of the antique violin is made of heavy leather with metal latches.

What do u guys think? I feel a bit helpless because there are some people asking me to give my violin away (to them) since I can't bring it to the US. If I leave it here, I'll never see it again. Insights please =(

You should have no problems carrying one on board but two might be problematic... the airline is the final say... not all airlines will answer the same way.

[mnieto 2]

This will depend on the Airline you will be flying on, but you can ask the airport folks upon check-in if they will allow you to take both violins as carry-on items.

If the boxes are not longer than 30 inches it shouldn't be a problem. Once they approve of it, the flight-attendants can stuck the cases in the closets (or overhead-bins) on the plane.

Just make sure you ask the ground-staff nicely and politely and explain your situation!

[Hannah+Vito 0]

this is what Virgin atlantic have on thier site, just mentions one how ever but i'm guessing that if they are always classed as excess bagagge, perhaps you can book two on. check on your airlines site and do keyword search for musical instruments. thats what i did

http://virginatlantic.custhelp.com/cgi-bin...zb3J0PSZwX3Jvd1

9jbnQ9NCw0JnBfcHJvZHM9MCZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleH

Q9bXVzaWNhbCBpbnN0cnVtZW50cw**&p_li=&p_topview=1

[Sylvia_n_Joseph 3]

My son flew across country with his as checked luggage in just the regular case. Remember to really loosen the strings the changes in a plane can cause serious damage to the neck if the strings are tight.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

My son flew across country with his as checked luggage in just the regular case. Remember to really loosen the strings the changes in a plane can cause serious damage to the neck if the strings are tight.

thanks for that tip really usefull i never thought about that

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I'd also add to loosen the bow as well, though you probably do that anyway to keep it from warping

I have carried mine on board before and put it in the overhead at no additional charge but that was a few years back and things have changed so they might be charging. Probably best to call the airline.