Taking my bass oversea

[friskinator]

Wouldn’t buying a seat for the bass for a US to Australia flight cost as much as the bass itself? Seems like a bad idea financially.

 

[bucephylus]

I’ll be taking a bass from US to NZ in a few months. The comments about buying an extra seat, though well intentioned, do not line up with the cost of the bass. Trust me.

My bass is a US Fender, and I bought it with the current Fender ATA case. I do want that case there in NZ for storage purposes. I intend to discuss the instrument ahead of time with the carrier, Air NZ; and to carry the instrument to the gate, to gate-check it. I don’t have a problem with the bass going in the hold at the gate. Lot less chance to be tossed and bounce on the tarmac.

That and prayer.

 

[ajkula66]

Wouldn’t buying a seat for the bass for a US to Australia flight cost as much as the bass itself? Seems like a bad idea financially.

No clue on how the things are when travelling to Australia since I've never been there, but the seat for my basses cost 1/3 of my own on a flight to Europe. Since this kind of stuff is regulated on an international and not "airline per se" level, I would have a hard time imagining that it could surpass 1/2 of the "regular" seat price. Given the price of the bass in question, it seems like a wise investment in one's own peace of mind, but YMMV.

 

[mikeswals]

Since the family is moving, surely you folks are shipping your belongings over, just ship it with all that.

 

[joel the bass player]

I went the flight case route when I was headed overseas for a tour years ago. Gator branded arm stretcher, cause that thing loaded up was crazy heavy. I found once I got out of the US airlines cared more for my instrument. Don't know if that is the case everywhere, but definitely put at ease of how they handled it. The month long tour I did it made it back in once piece, but spent the night in another city before being delivered. I'll admit it was nice checking it and not having to go through the airport carrying it. Not much fun taking it on the tube in London. But I was younger and too excited to be bothered. The case was as close to disaster proof as I was going to get. It was big enough it always ended up in the oversize luggage area and probably didn't ride on the same conveyors as normal bags.

 

[mikeswals]

No clue on how the things are when travelling to Australia since I've never been there, but the seat for my basses cost 1/3 of my own on a flight to Europe. Since this kind of stuff is regulated on an international and not "airline per se" level, I would have a hard time imagining that it could surpass 1/2 of the "regular" seat price. Given the price of the bass in question, it seems like a wise investment in one's own peace of mind, but YMMV.

Interesting...
whats to stop anyone from buying an "instrument" seat and then just bringing a person instead if pre-buying tickets way ahead of said flight?

Are these specialty seats only sold at the airport live-person kiosk?

if so like in my case, overbooked flight, no extra seats avaiable.

 

[Pilgrim]

If you buy a set, the case or bag MUST have provision to fasten it down with a seat belt. You MUST have such provisions. A good handle in the center of a hard case might be enough if the straps will reach. I have carried a TV camera ($35,000) in Porta-Brace case on board and bought it a seat, but the requirement for fastening it in the seat was clearly expressed. (The bass was named "Cameron Case.")

I'd do one of two things:

1) Buy an Anvil, Calzone or other hard case that you could drive a truck over, and both insure it and check it. Anvil and Calzone are the very toughest. They're also very heavy and will cost extra to check.

2) Remove the neck, buy a Pelican or other sturdy case large enough to contain the body and neck with padding; pad the body and neck copiously while loading them into the case; check the Pelican case.

Either of those alternatives will cost less than buying a seat.

 

[ajkula66]

Interesting...
whats to stop anyone from buying an "instrument" seat and then just bringing a person instead if pre-buying tickets way ahead of said flight?

The fact that the seat is labeled under your name with a couple of added characters and that the person one would attempt to bring along would fail the passport check...

Are these specialty seats only sold at the airport live-person kiosk?

In my particular case, I had to call the airline in advance, then a bit of back and forth with their call center but in the end everything went well. YMMV and then some, depending on the airline/destination/etc.

if so like in my case, overbooked flight, no extra seats avaiable.

Oh for sure, I had done this weeks in advance. The gentleman who bought a fairly rare and expensive bass - well, not when compared to a Wal - and flew from TX to NJ to pick it up since I refused to ship that particular instrument under any circumstances - had pretty much the same experience. The bottom line here being: they (the airline) don't want to sell you that seat and will try to weasel their way out of it, BUT as long as one is persistent and within the limitations for the size, they have no choice other than complying. As previously stated, there are international laws and regulations governing this stuff.

 

[Ozmen1988]

Thanks for all the replies!
I just spoke to the airline CS. Unfortunately they are not able to arrange an extra seat for me at the moment. Guess I have no choice but to ship the bass then! My bass teacher told me he has done it multiple times( He always buys different brand of bass from all over the world and sell them in our city) He told me not to worry just use a nice case and protect the bass using bubble wrap/ clothes to minimize the impact and I should be fine.

I will arrive in Australia in early January. I will update if my bass makes it!

 

[Ozmen1988]

hey guys just a quick update. I arrived and the bass is safe! I use a gig bag similar to this one [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], and use a lot of bubble wrap to wrap my bass and fill the emtpy bass inside the gig bag to ensure to moving during transportation.

Be sure to tell the airport staff to move your bass manually instead of going through the luggage transfer bell!