I wanted to share the good news of some encouraging developments in our campaign to make life easier for musicians travelling with their instruments by plane.

Since last summer we have been campaigning to establish clear and consistent guidelines for musicians. Several of you have had problems taking small instruments like violins, trumpets and guitars into the cabin because of some airlines' restrictive hand baggage rules, even though the instruments fit easily into overhead lockers.

On Wednesday the issue was debated in the House of Lords, with Lord Clement-Jones asking the government's transport spokesman about it. In addition, easyJet has announced its new 'musician-friendly' hand baggage policy following discussions with the ISM. Under these rules, musicians will be able to bring instruments within the dimensions 30 x 117 x 38cm - including guitars, violins, violas, flutes, clarinets, and trumpets - into the aircraft cabin. Larger instruments like cellos will be accepted by special arrangement.

These are really encouraging developments and we feel like our campaign is really gathering momentum. We'd really like to keep this up, so if you haven't yet signed our petition calling for clear and consistent guidelines across the airline industry, please visit our website (ism.org) and click on the link. You can also share your stories of problems you've had flying with your instrument.

Callum Thomson, Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)

That's good news.
Is the instrument instead of, or as well as the usual hand luggage? And is there an extra charge?

I too found it unclear.
If it is not as well as the usual hand luggage, then it is no different from easyjet's previous policy. For the past couple of summers I have taken my daughter's trombone on easyjet. There was no extra charge but it was instead of a piece of hand luggage.

The big change is that easyJet is explicitly allowing instruments into the cabin for the first time.

The old policy said "instruments will only be permitted to be carried in the cabin ? if space is available", so if there wasn't enough space then cabin crew could ask you to put your instrument in the hold.

The new policy is much clearer: "Each passenger can carry one musical instrument (measuring a maximum 30 x 117 x 38cm)". In addition there is a specific provision for larger instruments to be taken into the cabin (by special arrangement) for the first time.

You can read easyJet's own announcement on its website and we're advising our members to print a copy of the airline's statement and take it on their flight.

Callum Thomson, Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM)

I did read what it said on their website but it doesn't say AND between "one piece of hand luggage" and "one musical instrument".

The campaign is good news for those of us who fly with instruments - but I'm afraid it's not going to help me. Flights to and from the only airport on the island have been taken over by Flybe, and on checking their hand baggage restrictions, I would no longer be able to travel with my violin. Flights here used to be operated by BA, and they were more generous / helpful.

We're continuing our campaign with other airlines and would welcome as much support as possible from musicians and non-musicians alike: you can sign the petition on our website at ism.org.

Callum, ISM

This is good news indeed.

(Now wondering how many items of clothing I could fit into a trombone case...)

With or without teddybears?

A friend was flying with her daughter and her daughter's French horn and (because it was on the way back and they had a lot more things) decided to stuff the horn with her daughter's underwear. To her daughter's horror, after putting it through the X ray machine, the security people at the airport decided they needed to empty the French horn

So chose your clothes carefully

*desperately trying to avoid making any comments about bras and 'plunger' mutes!*

Or indeed violins and G strings...

I have all sorts of images in my head now of undies, instruments and bad jokes from customs officials...
Scenes straight from a 'Carry On' film...

I guess that would have to be Carry On Baggage?

'Carry on Baggage' .... very good Czerny
I take my hat off to you... and my case...off the plane...

denmark

Did you get the idea from the Grauniad?

Are you sure? I've taken my clarinet as hand luggage on Flybe before...

No, but I'm not surprised someone had already thought of it.

On the subject of musicians' travel problems, there's the separate issue of musicians being refused entry by immigration officials because they're deemed to be breaching the terms of their visas:
Why carrying a cello could stop you from entering Britain

Cellos and border crossings - am I the only one reminded of a certain scene in The Living Daylights?

Did you have your clarinet inside you "one piece of hand luggage" (that is what I do with my oboe)? In which case it's not a problem. It's the instruments which don't fit inside your "one piece of hand luggage" which are a problem.

As an aside, I've always like the fact that the give the piccolo as an example of an instrument which fits within their 117cm length restriction

My clarinet was my one piece of hand luggage!

I think a clarinet case is OK with Flybe size-wise......?

I haven't actually tested out the theory with my violin yet - but if they stick to the dimensions published on their website, my violin case exceeds the length....in which case I will only be able to take my flute to the Scottish Forum Event. (I don't have a very good relationship with my flute just now.)

However, I think I will phone them to check - and give things a stir.....

I think it's worth checking with Flybe : there's a good chance your violin would be OK.

But couldn't you have put your clarinet case inside a bigger bag? I bought the biggest bag possible for the hand-luggage restrictions and put my oboe inside that and other things as well.

To be truthful I actually had to buy two bags since Ryanair and Easyjet don't have the same dimensions for their hand-luggage. With Easyjet I can fit my cor-anglais and my oboe inside and still have some room to spare.

That reminds me of the last time I flew to the US. My laptop bag with it's 'expander' expanded fitted in the hand luggage restrictions.
So I expanded it.
And it contained just my laptop (the power bits, mouse, etc shoved in my hold luggage), and then also my handbag, some snacks, a book or two, and another bag a bit like a canvas A4 folder which was full of cross-stitch stuff.

As soon as I was through security, I took it all apart and had it as three bags again (and went and bought a bottle of water, too ) which is apparently fine when you get on the plane...it all just had to squish in to one bag to go through security!

I could've done, but it wasn't worth doing just going from Leeds to Belfast!

Surely you didn't manage to get an embroidery needle through security?

Yep, probably half a dozen of them

Mind you, I was on express check-in and fast-track security due to going business class, perhaps that makes them less suspicious of you

Come to think of it, I must have had a my cross-stitch scissors in there as well
This was a few years ago but not that long ago (I think the liquids restriction was quite new at the time)

All this reminds me that I take my flute fairly frequently inside my hand luggage, and this has included Flybe. On one occasion I was stopped at the X-ray machine and asked to prove that I could play it! As I was only a beginner then, this turned out to be harder than you might imagine, and caused quite a bit of embarrassment.

On another occasion, at check in I was asked if I had anything sharp in my hand luggage. I replied "Only my flute, and then only when I play it". I just got the "I am not amused" look that you get from check in ladies!

Seiously, I think it is good news if more instruments will be allowed into the cabin, considering their value, and the immense problem of losing it in the luggage handling department if you are planning to play it when you arrive.

I've dug this thread up as I'm hoping to take my violin with me to band camp in April....we are going BA. Now I've just checked their website and it looks like they have changed their rules...

Quote from the website:
Small musical instruments within the maximum size and weight limits for hand baggage may be carried onboard as part of your free hand baggage allowance.

Max length shown is 56cm.

I can't believe it! I can't book an extra seat for it as I'm going with the regiment and they are booking it. I was going to get it valued

Sunrise, can you phone BA and check with them? Both my son and I have carried violins into the cabin on a number of occasions, and it has never been questioned. The most recent time was with Flybe, who have similar stipulations as those you give above. Probably worth double-checking.

Definitely check with them - both my son and husband regularly take saxophone/guitar cases on planes and it's never been an issue.

I've just called customer relations and they could only go off the website. They said I could take it with me on the day and ask - but that is not good when you are travelling in a very large group! What makes me really annoyed is that they allow 2 pieces of hand luggage - and my case is only 82 cm long, so actually smaller than the joint allowance. Grrrrrrrr

I might actually go and ask at the airport next week (its just around the corner from me). I was just suprised when they have changed their website. If I had a choice I'd go easyjet!!

I flew BA at the end of September when I think they were on these regulations. I was told on the phone that it counted as the main bag part of my allowance, so I could have the violin case and a laptop-shaped case (which didn't happen to contain a laptop). None of the staff seemed at all dubious about this on the day, it was absolutely fine.

I can't remember the numbers now but when I flew with BA last year they allowed on anything which when you added the 3 dimensions together was below a certain number. Bass clarinet cases were 1 cm too big but they didn't mind on the day - though I don't think we pointed it out to them either

Don't rely on this for all airlines peeps !! At the Ryanair departure gate when I last flew they were rechecking that everyone had strictly one piece of hand luggage. People who'd bought extra stuff in the airport shops were having a terrlible time.

Ryan air are terrible.

We had seats with them booked by our Dublin venue, and they wouldn't let us take our sax as hand luggage. We'd packed it in bubble wrap and they marked it Fragile, but it was damaged and unplayable when we arrived. We had to find a music shop and it took three hours to get it playable for the gig, but needed more work afterwards.

On the way back we refused to put it in the hold and they charged us an extra ?40! No way of getting anything back off them either.

Gosh, that's really mean! I suppose if you had squished it all in to one bag for security, you could squish it all back together again for boarding - if you hadn't done too much shopping!

Thanks for that....my only worry is if I get it out the country and then on the way back they won't let it on at Heathrow!! I'll go and talk to the desk next Wed on the way to my lesson and show them the case.

Lara St John has some handy tips

Thanks Janexxx! It would be different if it was just me, I wouldn't be so worried about it.....but the whole regiment's going and it's going to be so embarrassing if I have a problem infront of that lot!!

I found out something curious when flying down to Southampton with Flybe last time - I'd booked in online, and had no hold-luggage, only hand-luggage: this meant I could go straight through security (no need to check in at the airport) without them demanding that I squish my hand-luggage into their crate thing to check its size. I'd bought the bag as a flight one, but Flybe's crate is smaller than those of most other airlines .

Once you get to the gate, they have another crate thingie but don't enforce measuring the size, most of the time - they do however count bags and make people do the stuffing one into the other to board.

As for how many instruments they let you carry? I've taken bass, tenor, two trebles and descant recorders all in one handluggage bag - and didn't even get arrested for the sopranino hidden inside the bass, even though sopraninos really are offensive weapons . I did get asked by security if I'd give 'em a tune, and I laughed, saying the usual response for recorders was to ask us to shut up...

Hi Sunrise,

I flew BA last month to China with a bassoon as hand luggage. When I called them about carrying on the contrabassoon, they said so long as the longest dimension was under 52 inches it would be OK; sadly the case is 53inches! They were fine about the bassoon as carry on, though I had no other bags to carry on. I flew with a clarinettist and a viola player and all their instruments went as carry-on. On the way back, flew with a violinist who has no problems taking it on as carry-on.
I'm sure the bassoon case I was carrying was longer than 56cm.

Thanks everyone, I'm feeling a bit better now...I just wish they would have the right info on the website. I remember it used to say so long as it fitted in the over head locker you can take it!

Saying it will be OK if it fits in the overhead locker is fine - but you won't know for sure until you are inside the plane. Which is a bit late if it doesn't fit.

Information and sensible consistency seems to be the best idea, which explains why so many people have had so many problems.

I always have to pay for a seat for my instrument...I'm a singer!

Question: How do double bass players manage?

On the flight I mentioned before the double bass player with us managed to borrow a hard case for the bass and it went in the hold. The tuning went a bit awry but the only real problem was that it was left behind in the uk and didn't arrive until the next morning. The upside of this was that the airline had to transport it to the hotel making life easier for the bass player.

Sorry but the thread title made me chuckle- reminded me of the film Snakes on a Plane

Well I checked at the airport and the desk have said I can take it handluggage, thank goodness! I've also talked to the bandmaster and he is happy for me to do it, so if there is a problem he'll at least be on my side!

Now why can't they just have the right info on the website? It would have avoided all the stress. Thanks all for your helpful things on this x