Flying with basses and changing planes... a bad idea?

pklima · #1 07-12-2005, 05:05 PM

This is a real basic question... when flying with a bass (or other oversize cargo) and changing planes during the journey, does it work like any other checked baggage where you can check it all the way to your destination or do you have to pick it up and recheck it at every airport? Possibly paying excess baggage fees each time?

The reason I'm asking is that I know somebody who's flying to the Philippines and can bring me one of Jacques Gagnon's cases for much cheaper than Jacques wants for shipping. But he's changing planes THREE TIMES along the way - Hong Kong, LA and Dallas. I know with US customs he'll have to pick up and recheck all baggage in LA, but I'm hoping that will be all.

I'll also have to change planes at least once on my way to Poland. I can either do this within the US (Chicago or New York) or somewhere in Western Europe. I suppose the latter is better so Polish customs hopefully won't look at me as closely when I'm traveling from a EU country with a EU-manufactured bass.

zappabass · #2 07-13-2005, 12:04 PM

In my case, I'm pretty sure I do.

I'm flying Northwest Airlines to Bremen, Germany for an exchange year and it's costing around $375-450 for one way. I haven't asked them why it's so much ,but I assume that it is because I have to keep paying the excess baggage each time I board another plane. When I give them the dimensions, it seems a lot bigger than it is because of the height. it sounds like a 24"X30"X80" box but i'ts just a smaller box with a neck sticking out of it. I don't know if clearing up what this thing actually looks like would give me a better quote.

this could be a new post but I'll include it in this one

Would it be cheaper just to try and track a bass down in Europe, maybe from someone who doesen't play but just has one for some reason? Are the music programs they have outside of school stocked with instruments to borrow? I'm thinking I could just give someone a deposit or some money to let me rent it from them.

Does anyone know how much it would be to rent one for a year?

pklima · #3 07-15-2005, 05:19 PM

To answer my own question, you only have to check in the oversized luggage only once unless you're flying into the US and changing planes there, in which case you have to do it twice but only pay oversize charges initially. I was quoted $180 for flying the empty case from Manila to Houston. We'll see what the reality ends up.