If you’re the parent of a cellist who attends college far from home, or if you’re a cellist who attends college far from home, I would love to ask you questions about traveling with the cello.
Thanks.
My S is a cellist who does not live very far from home, 3 hours, but did fly to Houston last year with his cello for an audition so I have researched it a bit. If you don’t get any other replies from someone who travels a longer distance on a more regular basis I can share what I know.
Thanks, @cellomom2. I got some helpful responses, but I’d be curious how your son traveled with his cello. Thanks.
He flew SW airlines and bought a ticket for his cello. Flying with a cello with a seat automatically qualifies the passenger for early boarding (on SW airlines) and he was given a bulkhead seat and seatbelt extender to strap his cello in. All went very smoothly and he said the gate agents and flight attendants were very helpful.
My daughter has a friend who bubble wraps her cello inside the case and then gate checks it. She’s always on a non-stop flight.
Just to add, someone on CC recommended SW airlines as being the most cello friendly of the airlines which was why we scheduled his flights through SW.
My S had a teacher in HS who was a grad student from Korea and she always flew with her cello in a flight case and checked it as baggage but I worry that if TSA decides to open it to check it they might not repack it correctly.
Just one more thought, if you have the cello insured find out what is covered if it is damaged while flying. Cheers!
I will call the insurance-great idea. Yes, we have separate musical instrument insurance for a cello and violin (and bows). Thanks. Unfortunately, I don’t think SW flies the path we need. American is the airline that goes the non-stop route. Will investigate more.
My son has flown multiple airlines with his cello, all over the world. I wouldn’t say one has been markedly better than another - and it’s often the luck of the draw with the person at the baggage counter what the charge will be. He always checks his cello as baggage - in a special flight case which fits over his regular hard case. On his last trip cross country he made friends with a bassist whose bass was right underneath his cello in the oversize baggage area. When my husband saw the person my son was chatting with when we picked him up at the airport, he was starstruck. Turns out he is a famous jazz bassist who has played with all the greats. The camaraderie of musicians!
We’ve never bought a separate seat for the cello, since his cello is not super expensive. And, only once in the last 10 years was there any damage (on Southwest) - which was covered by our personal articles rider on our homeowner’s insurance without any issue. The only problem with the flight case is it makes the cello so huge to fit in the car - but we’ve found, even in a compact car, if you push the front passenger seat back, it can fit in the front seat. We’ve had some pretty cramped drives, however!
I am jealous, as a bass transporter.
My D’s cellist friend uses t-shirts and socks etc. to pad the bridge and sides of the instrument, with the added benefit of cutting down on carry-on luggage.
Just last night I was talking to a cellist friend who flies a lot. She has a BAM flight case–her regular case fits right inside. Of course, at the other end you have to figure out where to stash the flight case.
From what cellists have told me, some of them bring the case on board (where they can), others use a flight case and check it. The flight case is critical from what I hear, the cargo hold is not a great environment, it is cold and it isn’t pressurized, and the flight cases are designed to handle that. The other thing cellists have told me is that if you check it, once you get it at claim check at the other end, check the instrument to see if there is any damage. Fortunately most report they have had little trouble, but there have been enough reports of curious baggage handlers and TSA agents (or the foreign equivalent) handling instruments and causing damage that I think this makes sense, not to mention potential damage simply from being checked.
I need to ship a fairly expensive classical guitar across the country. This thread gives some tips, thanks. She has both a soft and a hard case, but no flight case. I wonder if there are shipping companies that specialize.
We just used Fed Ex for shipping. My son’s cello arrived in good condition.
I shipped a violin across country a few years ago. I went to our local string instrument shop and they instructed me in how they pack an instrument for shipping and even gave me a box to use that fit the violin case.
Like cellomom2, I buy a seat for my D’s cello twice a year on Delta (non stop 2.5 hour flight.). Delta will not allow you to book a cello seat online but will waive the $25 phone booking fee for both seats if you request the waiver (they must get clearance from a manager but have never turned me down.). Like other airlines, Delta lets you pre board early and we haven’t had any issues.
JetBlue customer service told us we needed to pay an oversize baggage fee for the cello but at the airport counter we were told to gate check it for free. That was a super nice surprise, JetBlue! My D followed the advice here on loosening strings and padding; the cello survived the cross country journey. One thing I had to tell my D was not to put the proof of purchase/sales receipt IN the cello case because if the cello was lost in transit she would need that documentation to file an insurance claim.
Just shipped my daughter’s classical guitar across the country via FedEx Ground. I found instructions online and detuned, and padded, inside the hard case, then took it to a packing and shipping place where they finished the preparation for shipping with box, padding outside the case, and peanuts etc. Fingers crossed! The total was close to $150.
It should be fine. We just shipped our son’s home via FedEx, as well, for about the same amount of money – maybe a little more because it was next day air – and it arrived in fine shape.
Regarding FedEx, I did once ship a viola (not a cello, so smaller) to my daughter when she was at a chamber festival and needed a second instrument. I had it prepared by a local violin shop-- and she had to take it to a shop where she was staying, which IIRC was Aspen, to get it set up again on arrival. The process was repeated when she returned. It was not terribly expensive except that we had to pay the luthiers for set-up on either end.
The guitar arrived in good shape!