accordions on planes...
- Thread starter losthobos
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Ouch... the video did not show handling of accordions but it says enough: never ever travel with an accordion in checked baggage! It is bad enough when you ship an accordion with a courier... but at least then you can use a *lot* of padding, more than is permissible for luggage.
It is a pity that I cannot get everywhere with my accordions but I refuse to fly with them so I can only go where you can go by car. The worst I have done is travel by bus with an orchestra, with me putting the accordion in the baggage compartment and me taking it out. Call me prudent but I am too attached to my instruments to risk damage, even though I have all-risk insurance.
It is a pity that I cannot get everywhere with my accordions but I refuse to fly with them so I can only go where you can go by car. The worst I have done is travel by bus with an orchestra, with me putting the accordion in the baggage compartment and me taking it out. Call me prudent but I am too attached to my instruments to risk damage, even though I have all-risk insurance.
Back down from Toronto last month there was this guy with a small accordion. They allowed it as extra cabin luggage..only way I would take one on a plane.
Yep....
I've a friend who works for Swissport or whatever handlers are called...i asked him about baggage and he told me that it was dropped down an almost vertical slide the height of two storey house....before running off on a curved bottom where it slide along to meet next handler who would gently place it elsewhere...<EMOJI seq="1f609">?</EMOJI> bit like being at themepark
He also said anything with wheels had a better chance of survival...
I've a friend who works for Swissport or whatever handlers are called...i asked him about baggage and he told me that it was dropped down an almost vertical slide the height of two storey house....before running off on a curved bottom where it slide along to meet next handler who would gently place it elsewhere...<EMOJI seq="1f609">?</EMOJI> bit like being at themepark
He also said anything with wheels had a better chance of survival...
Granitz
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I've flown several times on U.S. domestic flights with a full size accordion and they fit just perfectly in the overhead compartment, but only with a backpack-style soft case. Never has the safety of the instrument been a concern. Never will I check an instrument in with baggage.
Perhaps the best part of flying with accordions is watching the reaction of the TSA agent operating the scanning machine as the x-ray image crosses their screen...countless puzzled faces :shock:
Perhaps the best part of flying with accordions is watching the reaction of the TSA agent operating the scanning machine as the x-ray image crosses their screen...countless puzzled faces :shock:
Stephen Hawkins
Experienced Gentleman.
Yes, I saw this on the BBC lunchtime news. It is the way of the World, I'm afraid.
I guess baggage handling doesn't require a great deal of intelligence, and these "gentlemen" seem to support this theory.
Kind Regards,
Stephen.
I guess baggage handling doesn't require a great deal of intelligence, and these "gentlemen" seem to support this theory.
Kind Regards,
Stephen.
It is a real shame that you cannot trust baggage handlers to look after a musical instrument. I’m not sure it’s an intelligence issue though as those poor guys have to work with the tools provided and achieve a productivity higher than the tools are designed for. The way of the world I’m afraid.
Eddy Yates
Well-known member
I’ve carried a 72-bass piano accordion on flights all over the world. Always fit in the overhead with soft padded backpack. Sometimes the attendants said “That won’t fit”, but it always does. On small planes you can learn the dimensions online of the bin to be sure.
Pre-911 I was nearly arrested when United Airlines changed their carry-on size in the middle of a tour. Starting the tour , my Main Sqeeze with hard case fit through the size limiter. Returning home, it didn’t, even though it fit overhead. They called security when I protested, very loudly. Solved it by taking the accordion out of the case and checking the case.
I haven’t flown United since.
Pre-911 I was nearly arrested when United Airlines changed their carry-on size in the middle of a tour. Starting the tour , my Main Sqeeze with hard case fit through the size limiter. Returning home, it didn’t, even though it fit overhead. They called security when I protested, very loudly. Solved it by taking the accordion out of the case and checking the case.
I haven’t flown United since.
Jeeze, yes, I know bags get thrown around but actually seeing it is always shocking!
I had a nice Hohner Morino IV smashed at Amsterdam airport coming back from Boston. I watched it being thrown from the plane cargo hold down onto a trolly and my heart sank. Sure enough there was splinters of wood and the bass end had been bashed in. £500 repair job but of course it has never been quiet the same since.
I had a nice Hohner Morino IV smashed at Amsterdam airport coming back from Boston. I watched it being thrown from the plane cargo hold down onto a trolly and my heart sank. Sure enough there was splinters of wood and the bass end had been bashed in. £500 repair job but of course it has never been quiet the same since.
M
maugein96
Guest
Better using UK Navy helicopters. Delicate things like accordions would be underslung into a cargo net beside well padded things like jeeps, artillery weapons, and other fragile military equipment. We never once damaged an accordion, and only lost the odd jeep or gun when the pilot and crewman forgot they had the cargo net below them.
Those baggage handlers could have learned a lot from us. They wouldn't have dared to throw primed 2" (50mm) rockets and other missiles around like that. They might have lost a finger or two, or maybe the odd airport if they dropped an SS11 or AS12 missile.
Don't try and take an accordion into the cabin of an Irish Ryanair aeroplane. They made me put a Greek bouzouki into the hold and pay them 60 Euros for the privilege. Only musical instruments the size of a small cabin bag were allowed, so most accordions were taboo. Overhead lockers were only for "safe" items like the booze you buy in glass bottles from the Duty Free shop, as the Tunisian cabin crew kindly explained to me. When I went to collect it at Leeds Bradford baggage reclaim a little kid was playing soccer with it while his father was looking for his golf clubs, under a pile of similar baggage. When I opened the soft case the "zouk" had more dents in it than a dodgem car and the bag was scuffed along the bottom edge. The guy who made the instrument and sold it to me had never known any of his instruments being refused into the cabin, but he'd obviously never heard of Ryanair.
I filed a complaint and duly received a bog standard e-mail reply, "As you did not comply with our terms and conditions of carriage then we are not prepared to entertain any claim for damage or loss to property, which in the opinion of our ground staff at Chania airport, was deemed unsuitable for carriage in the cabin of our aircraft."
My sister, who lives in Crete, made some enquiries when it was discovered that ground staff earn a commission for all items they make a surcharge on for carrying in the hold. The smile on the operative's face when she "banned" the instrument from the cabin was a bit of a giveaway. My sister double checked with the luthier in Rethymno and he confirmed mine was the only case he had heard of when a bouzouki had not been allowed in the cabin. It still plays OK, but it looks as though somebody has used it as a baseball bat. Fortunately it wasn't one of those ornate ones with a lot of fancy inlays.
Those baggage handlers could have learned a lot from us. They wouldn't have dared to throw primed 2" (50mm) rockets and other missiles around like that. They might have lost a finger or two, or maybe the odd airport if they dropped an SS11 or AS12 missile.
Don't try and take an accordion into the cabin of an Irish Ryanair aeroplane. They made me put a Greek bouzouki into the hold and pay them 60 Euros for the privilege. Only musical instruments the size of a small cabin bag were allowed, so most accordions were taboo. Overhead lockers were only for "safe" items like the booze you buy in glass bottles from the Duty Free shop, as the Tunisian cabin crew kindly explained to me. When I went to collect it at Leeds Bradford baggage reclaim a little kid was playing soccer with it while his father was looking for his golf clubs, under a pile of similar baggage. When I opened the soft case the "zouk" had more dents in it than a dodgem car and the bag was scuffed along the bottom edge. The guy who made the instrument and sold it to me had never known any of his instruments being refused into the cabin, but he'd obviously never heard of Ryanair.
I filed a complaint and duly received a bog standard e-mail reply, "As you did not comply with our terms and conditions of carriage then we are not prepared to entertain any claim for damage or loss to property, which in the opinion of our ground staff at Chania airport, was deemed unsuitable for carriage in the cabin of our aircraft."
My sister, who lives in Crete, made some enquiries when it was discovered that ground staff earn a commission for all items they make a surcharge on for carrying in the hold. The smile on the operative's face when she "banned" the instrument from the cabin was a bit of a giveaway. My sister double checked with the luthier in Rethymno and he confirmed mine was the only case he had heard of when a bouzouki had not been allowed in the cabin. It still plays OK, but it looks as though somebody has used it as a baseball bat. Fortunately it wasn't one of those ornate ones with a lot of fancy inlays.
Neoscan post_id=63119 time=1537730085 user_id=1511 said:
ouch, that was a hard lesson
I was at a Cory Pesaturo workshop this past weekend and he spoke about it and had a lot of good points. He made a low quality video about it too. To see that, look at the link below:
Also, though most do not like it, splitting the accordion in half lets you fit it in the carry on, but this works best when flying with someone that can carry on the 2nd half.
Enjoy.
Also, though most do not like it, splitting the accordion in half lets you fit it in the carry on, but this works best when flying with someone that can carry on the 2nd half.
Enjoy.
maugein96 post_id=63121 time=1537735758 user_id=607 said:
I havent checked recently but Ryanair has always let you buy an extra seat for a musical instrument.
The extra seat is reserved under the name accompanying instrument.
(Back when they allowed people to be registered as mr., ms., mrs., and dr, a single reservation could be used for at most 4 instruments. Now they no longer have dr. so it will be reduced to 3 as every person on a reservation must be different.)
Given what Ryanair charges for baggage versus for a passenger on many flights it can actually be a good deal too.
M
maugein96
Guest
Hi Paul,
The situation was that I just turned up for the flight and was advised there was no possibility of booking a seat for the bouzouki, as the flight was full. Had I known it would have been refused at the check in I'd have just got my sister to mail it to me, so that some other airline could have broken it!
It is entirely possible that you can book a passenger seat for an accordion, but I've never checked. At least you wouldn't have to keep getting up and down for it to go to the toilet!
The situation was that I just turned up for the flight and was advised there was no possibility of booking a seat for the bouzouki, as the flight was full. Had I known it would have been refused at the check in I'd have just got my sister to mail it to me, so that some other airline could have broken it!
It is entirely possible that you can book a passenger seat for an accordion, but I've never checked. At least you wouldn't have to keep getting up and down for it to go to the toilet!
JeffJetton
Prolific poster
This is where having a "beater" accordion comes in handy. You don't want it to get damaged, but if it does, you won't cry too many tears about it.
Keymn
Prolific poster
Just carry it on! Play a couple tunes when you go through security.<EMOJI seq="1f604">?</EMOJI>. US Federal law lets you do this...international, not sure?
M
maugein96
Guest
Wouldn't work in Europe, Larry. My wife's friend activated a terrorist alarm going through check-in at one of Rome's international airports last month, as her face cream contained glycerine.
She was approached with caution by airport police whilst a tannoy belted out "Terrorista" and a warning klaxon sounded.
Reckon if she had walked through check in playing an accordion they'd have dismantled the accordion, and maybe my wife's friend as well.
She was approached with caution by airport police whilst a tannoy belted out "Terrorista" and a warning klaxon sounded.
Reckon if she had walked through check in playing an accordion they'd have dismantled the accordion, and maybe my wife's friend as well.
debra post_id=63212 time=1538043913 user_id=605 said:
We took my step-daughters violin to Dublin on a Ryanair flight a few years back - it travelled as Mr Extra Seat!
Maugein said one advantage of a seated instrument is that it doesnt keep gettting up to go to the lavatory! The downside in those pre-allocated-seat days was that for safety reasons it had to be in the window seat, and other people got very sniffy about luggage occupying a window seat. :shock:
Francisco SC
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Two years ago, my wife and I decided to bring two of our accordions to our house in Brazil: a Hohner Concerto IV and a Calvi Signora. Both are 120 bass, but the Calvi is a reduced size, very thin. As my wife would refuse to leave aside her 7 kilos bag full of items she found essential to have at hand during a flight (sigh), then we had to take the decision of sending the bigger accordion (the Hohner) in our checked baggage. I had bought it second hand extremely cheap, and its externally quite deteriorated, and needed tuning/valve replacing, so I thought to myself I could give a try.
I placed the Hohner, whapped in bubble plastic, inside a jig bag, and then I wrapped it again in bubble plastic, and placed it in our larger suitcase with clothes surrounding it. Our trip was: 10 hours flight from Porto (Portugal) to São Paulo (Brazil), then 1.5 hours domestic flight from São Paulo to Curitiba. I would carry my wifes Calvi in a jig bag.
Guess what? The Hohner arrived safely, including a 3 hours car drive from Curitiba to our place! The problem came with the small Calvi: the domestic flight was on an Embraer 190, which has tiny overhead compartments. Even being a very thin accordion, it would simply not fit. I had to squeeze it under the seat in front of me (and it barely fitted there too). Luckily, no damage was done.
Here they are finally in Brazil:
Francisco Sánchez-Castañer, en Flickr
I placed the Hohner, whapped in bubble plastic, inside a jig bag, and then I wrapped it again in bubble plastic, and placed it in our larger suitcase with clothes surrounding it. Our trip was: 10 hours flight from Porto (Portugal) to São Paulo (Brazil), then 1.5 hours domestic flight from São Paulo to Curitiba. I would carry my wifes Calvi in a jig bag.
Guess what? The Hohner arrived safely, including a 3 hours car drive from Curitiba to our place! The problem came with the small Calvi: the domestic flight was on an Embraer 190, which has tiny overhead compartments. Even being a very thin accordion, it would simply not fit. I had to squeeze it under the seat in front of me (and it barely fitted there too). Luckily, no damage was done.
Here they are finally in Brazil:
Francisco Sánchez-Castañer, en Flickr
M
maugein96
Guest
Hi Francisco,
Guess you were lucky with those and glad you made it. Domestic flights on small aircraft can be problematic, and at least they allowed you to take it into the cabin.
Love the bird photos, they are excellent.
Still no word yet about a World/South American board, and I somehow get the feeling it's not going to happen.
Guess you were lucky with those and glad you made it. Domestic flights on small aircraft can be problematic, and at least they allowed you to take it into the cabin.
Love the bird photos, they are excellent.
Still no word yet about a World/South American board, and I somehow get the feeling it's not going to happen.
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