<p>Air transport is not so much a major concern as a last resort. I don't even consider it an option for trips under 1000 miles unless we do not have time to drive. For long trips, I try every way that I can think of to borrow or rent a suitable instrument near the destination. If no other solution can be made to work, only then does air transportation become both a major concern and a major pain in the tokhes.</p>
<p>SimpleLife, you've provided good info many may not be aware of. Thank you.</p>
<p>On the same token son has tried most of caveats mentioned by SimpleLife, and each one continues to be a crapshoot. Trying to board early either through ticket purchase or asking for special consideration, striking up a friendly discourse with the attendant, even playing in the waiting area are 50/50 shots on a good day.</p>
<p>Batting eyelashes may work for Nicola Benedetti or Janine Jansen, but I doubt they have boarding or storage issues. :)</p>
<p>Case in point, he has an audition in Buffalo at the end of February. To fly out of LGA the only direct flight is on a 22 seat Dehaviland. His experience on these is that he will have to check the viola as baggage. That's a no brainer.</p>
<p>All other flights are one or two stop flights, adding hours to the trip.</p>
<p>Amtrak station is actually 10 miles outside of downtown, (actually near the airport) so added expense of cab fare round trip is $70 or so in either case. It might be cheaper to rent a car with his discount from the station.</p>
<p>The only upside at this stage is that the audition expenses are tax deductible.</p>
<p>Round trip driving mileage is 850 or so. Chancing a drive to Buffalo in late February is iffy, even with his four wheel drive truck. The age of his vehicle and the poor gas mileage compound the issue.</p>
<p>It's grand to have daughter who is a voice major.....Biggest concern for us is not landing in the Hudson :)</p>
<p>I was just about to post something similar, opera-mom! We only have to deal with the endless scarves that our daughters' collect to keep "the throat" warm!</p>
<p>Violadad,</p>
<p>Should your son decide on Amtrak and want to save a few bucks, there are much cheaper ways than a $35 plus tip cab ride to get to downtown Buffalo from either the Amtrak station or the airport.</p>
<p>Note that there are two Amtrak stations in the Buffalo area - one downtown and one near the airport. Does the train he would take only stop at Depew (the one near the airport)? If so, the #6 bus goes downtown from there for $2.05 per trip. If he arrives at a time when the #6 is not running frequently, he could also take a less expensive cab ride to the airport and either catch one of several buses there, or call for the hotel van if he happens to be staying at a hotel that provides van service to the airport. Come to think of it, if he is staying at a hotel that provides van service to the airport, they may very well be willing to pick him up directly from the Depew Amtrak station.</p>
<p>BassDad, thanks. I'll have him look into the second stop. The online system indicated a stop a Depew, although perhaps it does stop downtown as well.</p>
<p>Flying off to 2 auditions this weekend. Don't want the Son to wear the Suit while traveling. My garment bag is the traditional one that use to fit in the overhead, and that use to be checked for free. Now it is $15 for each flight.</p>
<p>I looked into carry-on garment bags. $50 for a nylon bag that covers the suit, or $250 for a tri-fold garment bag that folds into carry-on. Then I saw Sky Roll that is $150 online, or $99 at the local Men's Warehouse. It rolls the suit around a round core. Inside the core you can put shoes, toiletries, etc. I'm giving it a try this weekend. It seems sturdy enough for gate check-in for the small planes - something I wouldn't want to do with a nylon bag. I have heard for years that "rolling" is better than the folds of a garment bag. I guess I'll find out on this trip.</p>
<p>of don992's most appropriate post #8:</p>
<p>
[quote]
"Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cellists.
Don't let 'em pick basses that need big ol' trucks.
Let 'em be flautists and singers and such...."</p>
<p>(My apologies, Waylon)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The "dads" have made one very important point that I would like to also emphasize. My kids KNOW which planes will not allow them to carry their instruments on board. They have politely asked me to NOT book them on these planes. Most overhead bins can hold my kids' instruments, but there are a few tiny commuter planes that simply won't. My kids would prefer to go on a longer trip than to go on one of these types of planes.</p>
<p>Given the brilliant start he has made, I think don992 should rewrite the rest of that song.</p>
<p>About the airlines one more time:</p>
<p>I admit my understanding of free market principles is far from perfect, but the next-to-last people I would look to for further education in the profitable running of service-oriented companies in a free market would be airlines (I suppose last place would go to the banking industry).</p>
<p>I just am not buying that the reason it makes sense for an airline to charge $85, or $50, or $125, or nothing (as you see, there is absolutely no consistency to how much they think it should cost from one trip to the next) to check our 30-lb-total-weight (I’m guessing) cello packed in a BAM ultralight case + BAM flight cover is because it leads to greater profitability for the airlines. Demonstrably not in our case – I just drove 22 hours round trip for an audition rather than go through the rigmarole…and we are not a family that in general prefers long-distance driving to air-travel. I could speculate on the reason why I think airlines behave as they do – the regulatory environment in which the air travel industry grew up, the gov’t handout mentality that still exists, led to certain distortions from a more rational business model – but I admit these are just idle speculations. </p>
<p>Here’s an interesting proposal, from a professor of marketing at Tulane:
Competing</a> for Customers and Capital: The Paradox of Air Transportation</p>
<p>DS lucked out big time in the air travel department for one audition. He's auditioning at a midwestern college and knows the cello prof from summer camp. She e-mailed him and offered to loan him a university instrument a day in advance. "Just bring your bow," she said.</p>
<p>I am definitely going to buy this woman a tall drink when I see her - she saved me a 2,000 mile drive (round trip) and three days of missed work. </p>
<p>If he's accepted and opts to go there, we'll have to deal with the transportation issue, obviously, but for now we both got a nice reprieve. </p>
<p>I'm starting to think someone should start running charters - either flights or busses - for A.W.L.I. (Auditioners With Large Instruments).</p>
<p>We feel so fortunate that S plays the viola. We learned the hard way a few summers ago not to ask any questions regarding the instrument at the gate. Can't remember which airline but it was on a little commuter flight from Portland Maine and the person at the desk gave us such a hard time and threatened us that we would not be able to fly. Luckily we ended up just carrying it on at the end and it fit fine. Now we know which planes it fits in so we plan our flights accordingly. Unfortunately we live too far away to drive anywhere so we are stuck dealing with the airlines. </p>
<p>We have also learned that if they ask what kind of an instrument it is we just say a violin. Many people just do not know what a viola is and it takes too much time and energy to explain it. The airlines know that a violin case will fit so it avoids all those extra questions. S just carries his case over his shoulder and drapes his jacket over it when we board. We try to book as many of our flights on Delta as possible since we are Medallion members and get priority boarding. Unfortunately we cannot fly non-stop to many places from our local airport. We are trying Jet Blue for the first time to Boston non-stop next month so we will see how the boarding goes with that one. Travelling logistics seem to make me more anxious than the actual audition itself. I will just be relieved to arrive at the destination without any missed connectons, cancellations, or boarding issues. Praying for good weather!!</p>
<p>
[quote]
We have also learned that if they ask what kind of an instrument it is we just say a violin.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Excellent advice, although it pains most violists to call it a violin. The comment about having to explain a viola to many is a true one, and the longer length and wider bouts of all but the smallest violas tend to put them every so slightly above the published parameters of "allowable" carry on luggage, although they still easily fit into standard overhead compartments.</p>
<p>I'm sure the folks BEHIND my son in the security line are just thrilled when he's asked why he has three or four different trumpets. He has come up with a short answer, but some folks are so persistent.</p>
<p>The skyroll worked well. It takes longer to put the suit into the bag. you have to lay out the garments without a hanger. When we took a commuter plane, it was small enough to carry on, whereas most wheelies had to be gate checked.</p>
<p>Ok - I'm probably being over-anxious - but I need advice from seasoned cello travelers. We're flying into Detroit for the U of Mich audition next week - I'm busy checking the NOAA website for weather reports and it looks like it could be wintry mix rain/snow waiting to greet us. I am a California girl - I know absolutely nothing about driving in winter. I have a mini-van reserved, but I'm thinking it might be wiser to use a Limo service to get to the hotel instead, and then use the hotel shuttle to get to and from the University. Has anyone dealt with getting a BAM flight-covered cello into a regular airport Limo car? Are there tricks?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>If you know that your hotel has a shuttle that will take you to the University, might it also pick you up from the airport? Hotel shuttles tend to be at least 14-passenger vans, which will have no problem at all with a cello in a flight case provided the van is not completely full.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this is the Holiday Inn in Ann Arbor, and they only have a shuttle to the town and the university, as far as I know. (I reserved through Hotwire per the advice on CC in the Musical Theater forum. There's a good thread there about auditioning at UMich.)</p>
<p>We once stuffed a cello in a Hard Case + BAM Flight Cover onto two of my kids' laps in the back of a compact rental car. I think the limo should be able to handle it--then you can leave the flight case in your hotel room when you take the hotel shuttle to the audition. Good luck!</p>