Flying to Europe with a bass

[BostonPop01]

What has the general experience been with flying a bass from the US to Europe (specifically Germany)? Are there any airlines I should look out for or stay away from? About how much should I anticipate paying? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Peter Ferretti]

Alex I think your best bet would be to fly Lufthansa. Expect to pay around 200 euros each way. I've also flown British Airways and not had any major problems. I would absolutely stay away from KLM and their affiliates.

[MNbass]

I used Continental from NY to Copenhagen. I made sure to print out the airlines contract of carriage as back up because many employees don't know a double bass from a banjo. Depending on the person you are dealing with, you will probably get different reactions and prices for the excess size and weight of the bass. The contract of carriage specifically states that double basses are allowed. So by having it in hand it helped me when they said it was too large to be accepted.

[pedro]

I'm not following here did you all buy a seat for the bass or checked it as baggage and if you checked it was it in a hard shell case?

[Peter Ferretti]

Originally Posted by pedro

I'm not following here did you all buy a seat for the bass or checked it as baggage and if you checked it was it in a hard shell case?

Checked, and in a flight case.

[pedro]

Thanks Peter.