Airline rates for flying with an upright bass?

[Bobby King]

Hello,

Can anyone tell me about their experiences with flying an upright with commercial airlines?

What are typical rates for shipping a bass in a flight case?
Are some airlines better than others for this? Are there some that prohibit it entirely?

Thanks!

[M Ramsey]

Morning all,

I checked into this very matter in early February of this year. Later, I emailed Barry Bales who is the long-time bassist with Alison Krauss.

Barry emailed me back and said he was leaving the next day for Portland, OR from his home in Eastern TN. He told me he was fearful of flying his basses and would be using a bass available once he arrived on the west coast.

Now, mind you, Barry is playing with Alison and has traveled extensively with her for the past 16 years or so. He also owns 3 plywood basses (that I'm currently aware of) 2 American Standards and one Meisel. He does own a Gage flight case and has owned it for years.

If he's afraid of flying with his bass, I'm afraid of flying with either of mine.

[PaulCannon]

The cheapest airline to fly a bass on is Southwest. They charge a flat $50 fee to check a double bass, provided it weighs less than 100 pounds. No American airline will check anything that weighs more than 100 lbs.