flying with tuba - a recap


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Posted by tuba traveler on August 12, 2001 at 06:58:54:

Since I raised questions last month about the perils of flying with a tuba, I wanted to report back to you our experience in flying from the US to ITEC.

We flew on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) from the US to Denmark, and also flew several times within Scandinavia on SAS. I am pleased to report that the tuba and case (a Walt Johnson case) survived all baggage handling very well - nary a ding or nick, not even on the case itself - SAS gave the tuba special treatment in almost every situation - there was never an issue of the oversize and over weight surcharges that they are entitled to charge.

As for border crossings and customs problems, it was never an issue in any of the countries we entered (Denmark, Norway, Sweden or Finland) and there was no issue upon return to the US.

So we had a great experience flying with the tuba. While at ITEC, though, there were horror stories of damaged and delayed/lost instruments on other airlines, so maybe we were just lucky. I would have to say that the overall experience with SAS was one of the best I have ever had with any airline, so I would recommend traveling with them highly.

My final recommendation is that the Walt Johnson cases are fantastic - I cannot imagine flying with any other case.


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