Season's Bleatings to you all. I thought you might find this information useful since the ugly topic of traveling by air with horns has lifted off once again. I have had wonderful, and other times merciless, treatment from the airlines with my instrument. There seems to be no rhyme or reason why the individual airlines choose to allow a horn onboard one day and not the next. There are, of course, some obvious reasons, including how full the flight is, the size of the cabin and its storage space, and how rude the customer has been to the gate attendants. But there is still no consistency within an airline, let alone the same daily flight. In the past, when I used a hard case, I could often simply request to pre-board with my horn and find a space, and that worked really well (the closets up front are great). Other times I've been told to board with everyone else, and still other times they've insisted that the hard-case horn be packed down below with the snarling dogs. Since I bought my Thompson Edition case, I've rarely had trouble getting it cabinside.
Travelling to Spain with my horn studio this summer demonstrated these difficulties. Our travel agent had made arrangements early on with Delta to take good care of the 14 horns going with us, by handling them as fragile if they could not go above board. Some hard cases got on, some were required to go below. While sitting on the tarmac waiting, we watched in abject horror as cargo workers hurled the horns onto the belt. this AFTER I had spoken with the check-in people about the necessity of handling them as fragile. I will probably not fly Delta again, at least not on my own tab. This information is taken from the website of the American Federation of Musicians (www.afm.org): *******Musical Instruments As Carry-On Luggage******** Since 9-11 and the resulting heightened airport security, musicians have had difficulties carrying their instruments to out of town gigs. To remedy this, AFM worked with Congress to insure that the 2001 Airport Security Act contained language encouraging security personnel to accommodate musicians and their instruments. When it was found that, in spite of this language, musicians were still having problems at the airports, the AFM persuaded the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to issue a directive to its personnel requiring them to accommodate musicians. The resulting TSA letter has practically eliminated problems with government screeners, but musicians are still having difficulties with the airlines, who are not covered by the TSA directive. To remedy this, the AFM is negotiating with the airlines through their trade association, the Air Transport association (ATA), to make it easier for musicians to travel with their instruments. Both letters can be downloaded by members only below. 1st TSA letter 2nd TSA letter Our members still have problems, however, with some of the airlines. The AFM continues to work with individual airlines to clarify their respective policies and ensure they are communicated clearly and enforced consistently. Until we achieve this, the best line of defense is to know the policy of the airline on which you'll be traveling. To facilitate this process, we have included links to individual airline policies on our website. Also, please take a minute to read "Travel Tips for Airlines" http://www.afm.org/member/traveltips.htm . This document contains helpful suggestions and is updated periodically. Links to individual airline policies: http://www.afm.org/public/departments/airline_links.php For more information, please contact: Hal Ponder - Legislative Director [EMAIL PROTECTED] (202) 463-0772 Fax: (202) 466-9009 Eric Beers - Symphonic Services [EMAIL PROTECTED] (212) 869-1330 xt. 211 Fax: (212) 764-6134 Brent A. Shires Horn Instructor, University of Central Arkansas Studio Phone: 501-450-5768 Cell Phone: 501-472-3350 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.arkansashorn.org _______________________________________________ post: [EMAIL PROTECTED] unsubscribe or set options at http://music.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
