carrying instruments on airplanes

[Nick Royal]

Mandolin friends:
This may have already been posted, but I saw this on the Classical Mandolin site, and appreciated it, since I always take along a mandolin when I travel.


As of March 6, 2015, it’s official and no longer at the discretion of the various airlines. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, musicians who board planes must be allowed to carry on their instruments provided they fit in the overhead bin. If this space isn’t large enough, the musician is also permitted to purchase a second seat in which to stow their musical companion. One caveat: the airlines don’t have to prioritize musical instruments ahead of any other carry-on luggage, so if the bins are full, you’ll still have to check your instrument at the gate. To remedy this, the DoT suggests that musicians may want to pay the airline’s fee for priority boarding to ensure that there will be room for their gear.

Read the final ruling here, and for additional information, please review the Transportation Security Administration’s guide for traveling with musical instruments.

[MikeEdgerton]

It's been posted many other times but another won't hurt. My advice is to always hope for the best but plan for the worst.

[chuck3]

I've had no trouble bringing a mandolin on a plane. Was thinking of bringing a mandola for one trip. Anyone ever brought a mandola on board a plane?

[mandroid]

I packed My 22 A4 in its hard Case in the middle of a duffle bag padded with my Funeral suit bag and changes of clothes around it ,

On a Back pack frame To make it easier to get Thru the Bus Airport Plane airport Bus connections ,
and it went in checked Baggage
when I went from PDX OR to SFO Cal for My father's Memorial service.

I had it with Me to keep the spirits away when staying in the empty but furnished as They left it , House .

[Pete Braccio]

I've never had an issue getting a mandolin onboard a plane. Also, I've found that a TKL sized F or A case will fit under the seat in front of you (and provide a foot rest) if the overhead bin is full. Just remember to drape a jacket over your lap to hide the trip hazard from direct view of the flight attendant.

Pete

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Nick Royal - "....so if the bins are full,you’ll still have to check your instrument at the gate". How would anybody know if the baggage bins were full until all the passengers are on board ?. The flight crew aren't going around checking them & reporting back to the check-in desk.
Mike Edgerton's advice is pretty sound as well. Unless you're certain that all check-in staff are fully aware of any new rules,don't take it for granted that you'll be allowed to take your mandolin on board. If the check-in persons tells you to check your mandolin for baggage hold stowage,you've maybe got a long argument ahead of you & a lot of very frustrated passengers behind you.
If this ruling is to be taken seriously & also,if it applies to aircraft of any size & capacity,then musicians wishing to take a small instrument in it's case on board (Mandolin / violin etc) should be able to apply for a permit to do so. IMHO,only that way can you get past check-in persons who aren't aware of the rules. Also,IMHO,bagage should be judges by it's 'volume' not by it's dimensions - obviously as long as it's not ridiculously long / wide/ deep & will fit into the overhead baggage bins. My Travelite case is only slightly over 1/2 the max.volume allowed by our CAA to be taken onto an aircraft,but because it's a few inches over the allowed 'length',i can't demand to take it on board,
Ivan:confused:

[shiloh]

Hi Nick,
Did you have a link to the TSA statement, or a pdf of the statement? I have a similar copy of an older decision from years ago which I keep in my case when traveling. Would love to have a more recent document.
Thanks.

[Pete Braccio]

Here is the final rule in PDF form.

Pete

143641

[shiloh]

Thanks Pete!

J

[s1m0n]

From Nick Royal - "....so if the bins are full,you’ll still have to check your instrument at the gate". How would anybody know if the baggage bins were full until all the passengers are on board ?. The flight crew aren't going around checking them & reporting back to the check-in desk.

No, but they can make you take your luggage back to the gate to check it.

[UsuallyPickin]

Pay the early boarding fee and carry a flight rated case....... better safe than sorry. R/

[xiledscot]

Flying has become a complete pain in the neck.
Gone are the days when the entire band were welcomed on board, instruments as well.
The upright bass would be stowed at the back of the plane, and in flight jam sessions were the norm.

The stress involved today in flying with something as innocuous as a Mandolin requires the musician
to spend several pre flight hours in the bar.
This produces the effect of calm passiveness and good feeling to all of humanity.
It is however important to realise that all of humanity does not share this view.

When asked, by the very attractive,smiling,drop-dead gorgeous security officer, “what's in the case ?”
it is important to be completely honest and serious.
Any hilarious reply such as “well actually it's a machine gun” is not recommended.

[Tobin]

Pay the early boarding fee and carry a flight rated case....... better safe than sorry. R/

What constitutes a flight rated case? Who rates it, and how does one know if a case is flight rated?

[Emmett Marshall]

What constitutes a flight rated case? Who rates it, and how does one know if a case is flight rated?

If you can put 6 raw eggs in it and drop it from a 12 foot roof without any damage. I am available to test anyone's case btw - for a small fee of course.

[EdHanrahan]

Many 3-racket tennis bags will hold a standard A or F-style hard case, providing padding, shoulder strap, and insulation. I've flown 6-8 times that way, incl. international to/from Mexico, with no question or comment. At least once, the overhead was full so it went under the seat.

(Some here have suggested a "class discrimination" issue: that tennis players are less likely to be hassled than are musicians, but I withhold on THAT comment...)

While probably all such bags would HOLD a mandolin case, some have zippers too short to get the case INTO the bag. A friendly local tennis shop was a big help there.

[William Smith]

Unless you are able to have it with you in "sight" go with it otherwise play and travel with a good sounding junker, a good import or "cheaper" domestic depending on your budget. Leave your main ax at home :crying: Too many horror stories going on with great instruments! Just my opinion.

[Doug Ezell]

I recently traveled from Montana to Austin, TX, carrying on my violin/mandolin case. I had no troubles. I did purchase a pass to board early so that I could be reassured of being able to place my case in the overhead compartment. To me, that peace of mind was worth it. A couple of times boarding agents asked what was in the case. When informed that I was carrying musical instruments, I got no hassle at all.

Just one guy's experience. I did carry along a copy of the FAA regulations, but they were not needed.

Doug in Montana

[shiloh]

Boarding early is the key. Many flights are "through flights" so there may be 30 people on board already, even if you board first at your gate/point of departure. I agree with prior comments - I always make sure I'm in an early boarding group. With mandolins I've not had any problem fitting it into the overhead (although using a TKL case is smaller than a Travelite) - but when you change planes to some of the older commuter planes it can be extremely difficult to fit a mandolin case (and again, especially a Travelite) into the overhead. FWIW, a Travelite (which I love, by the way) won't fit into the sizer box used by the airlines, thus the reason I want my TSA/FAA letter with me.
One time I traveled with a mountain dulcimer (skinny, light weight, but long) and I was convinced they would yank it away and want to throw it underneath into the baggage area. There's no way I could have done that - way too fragile. That's the kind of stuff that terrifies me.

Jill

[jmp]

I've had no trouble bringing a mandolin on a plane. Was thinking of bringing a mandola for one trip. Anyone ever brought a mandola on board a plane?

I've bought a 20" octave mandolin on board a plane with no problems. It fit in the overhead bin.

[Ivan Kelsall]

From s1m0n - "No, but they can make you take your luggage back to the gate to check it.". They can only do that if there's absolutely no 'safe' place for the mandolin to be stowed. I carried this case on board flying back from the US & it too went into the baggage bin with enough room for me as well,
Ivan143711

[Muhrune]

What's a "flight-rated case"?

[Muhrune]

Did you ever find an answer for this? Have you ever flown with an instrument on Condor Airlines? They seem to be sticky about their on-board size requirements.

[Muhrune]

Has anybody brought a mandolin on a Condor Airlines flight? They seem to be sticky about size rules.

[jhowell]

What's a "flight-rated case"?

Check out Calton cases. They are designed to withstand the 800 pound gorilla treatment of airline baggage handlers......:)