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Accessories Flight case ?

Basil

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on the edge of Dartmoor
Hi folks. I have no idea where to post this, so feel free to move this if you wish Pete.
The thing is, in the next 3 months or so I have to fly up to Scotland for a famly visit, and quite fancy taking the sax with me. My yas 62 is in the usual sturdy Yamaha rectangular case, and whilst strong and robust for my usual usage I am not sure it would withstand the careful handling that it would receive by baggage handlers.....so, should I buy a flight/hard case, and if so which one ?
Do any of you seasoned players have any recommendations please ?

Basil
 
I flew into the UK yesterday (from Spain) for a couple of weeks as our daughter is having her second child. My alto in its own rudimentary case went into one of the larger cases we came with (because I've lined up a jam with my jazz piano playing son while I'm here!). Anyway, apart from some unexpected excess baggage charges (!) we know the outer case was later opened due position of zips when it arrived and that 200 fags had 'gone missing'. Also the inner sax case had obviously been opened although nothing went from that thank goodness and the sax itself arrived OK.
Unfortunately the sax case I have is around 20cm longer than will fit into one of those hand-baggage size checkers (and they were checking everyone's hand baggage on outgoing) else I would've carried the thing on.

So, I don't know quite what best to suggest as safe way of transporting a sax, but thought I'd re-count the first half of my own experience! I'm now just hoping I can get it back to Spain in a couple of weeks without problems!
 
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Congratulations to you and your daughter...I hope all goes well.
Not sure your experience fills me with confidence, but I hadn't considered the "hand luggage" option. Will have to look into that one more closely. Thanks.

Basil
 
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I take my alto to & from Spain quite frequently and always 'carry it on' in its normal case.....never had a moment's difficulty....I think reasonably-sized musical instruments are accepted by just about all airlines (except, probably, Ryanair, who appear to want to charge extra for anything...including use of the toilet facilites :eek: ).

I don't say anything when checking-in, just have the sax over my shoulder. Never had any comment. I doubt that the volume of my case exceeds that of the specified 'max case', and it fits easily in the overhead lockers..

My teacher takes his MkVI tenor the same way....I'm not sure I'd be brave enough for that, as the considerable extra size could be regarded a taking the p!
 
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I'm going to be in a similar situation in the summer. I live in India, and when we return to the UK for a summer holiday we will buy a soprano sax for my son, and a tenor sax for me. I talked to Woodwind & Brass (a la Walstein) about this, and they said there will be no problems with the soprano, pack it in a suitcase, locked or take it on as hand luggage. However, they said the tenor will have to go in the hold, which means a strong lockable case. They recommended a Hiscox, which although an extra 100 pounds, seemed like an excellent idea.

We've taken other instruments in the past on as hand-luggage: french horn, trumpet and alto sax, all with no problems. Tenor I think will be too large though. Pity, as it means we'll only have four suitcases rather than five to fill up with essentials for coming back to India.

I'd be interested in other people's experience of this, particularly of good strong, lockable cases for tenors. Alternatives I've been told are Grrr cases (a little more expensive), but look really great and alternative:

http://saxophones.co.uk/acatalog/Other_hard_sax_cases.html

I shall follow this thread closely!
 
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Hiscox cases are very strong, but I'd be very reluctant to put one, with valuable tenor, in the hold, unless I had very good insurance!
But there's little alternative, short of buying the sort of armour-plated box the pros use...but they are very heavy and expensive.
I have no experience of Grrr cases, but they don't look 'handler-proof' to me!

Just make sure it's securely bubble-wrapped inside the case so it cannot move, and that the neck plug is in place.

Good luck!
 
Hi Basil, which edge of the moor are you? I'm in Exmouth.

if you ever need a tweak drop me a line.

Regarding a flight case - unless you can find a Walt Johnson (American built like a tank type case) the Hiscox is the one - theyre very sturdy - just look on their website and you'll see 3 or 4 guys standing on one of their guitar cases.

Take it to the airport and have it over your shoulder and keep schtum (Say nowt)

if you have to put it in the hold it'll be fine in a hiscox. just remove the shoulder strap.

Ive been to Grence and took my tenor on board in a Hiscox case and it fit in the overhead locker so an alto should be fine.
 
Griff, Hi.
Thanks for that. Hiscox do seem pretty well rated. I have never heard of Walt Johnson, but am happy to begin a search. I also hear that Yamaha are bringing out a flight case. However, Hiscox seem the easiest to get hold of, and not too pricey.
I am the Bovey side of the moor, and work in Exeter, so Exmouth is not too far. I will be due for a service in the summer, so will give you a buzz. I could do with some sea air !
 
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oops....I've already bid on that one .....sorry :ashamed

Sending you a PM, Basil
 
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I took my tenor abroad a couple of years ago, and FlyBe wouldn't let me take it as hand-baggage (this was during the "no-hand-baggage-at-all period) and because I didn't entirely trust the case as hold luggage I had the whole thing "shrink-wrapped" at Gatwick. They have a machine there that wraps several layers of cling film around it, at a cost of a few pounds. It at least stops the case coming open by accident and increases the security. It may even have some shock-absorbing properties. You will need a sharp knife at the other end, though. I've taken my alto as hand-baggage without problems.
 
So, reading through the posts on this thread and to summarise, it seems that altos can go on as hand luggage, no problem. Tenors, if you're lucky as hand luggage, but most flight operators want them on as luggage, and a hiscox case is the best bet. Make sure it's well wrapped inside though! At least the Hiscox is a lockable case.
 
Hi All,

I can only speak from experience of moving guitars back and forth between blighty and the USA, and this is the flying world as I see it.

* The larger the airline, the more flexible they will be about what you take, as the airlines get smaller they tend to become more strict about carry on, but each airline will be happy to share its policy with you. But the general rule of thumb for BA and Virgin is "up to a guitar sized instrument as carry on, which should cover everything but Baritone and larger. For instance BA will allow one piece of carry on plus a laptop or handbag​

* You generally get what you pay for, in my experience it's far better to spend an extra 40% on my flight price and know that the three grand acoustic guitar is safely in the stewardesses locker in the temperature controlled, pressurised cabin, than in the baggage hold with 2 dozen bags stacked on top of it, hoping that the case holds out, and then hoping that none of the baggage handlers recognise it for what it is and see an early Christmas for themselves​

One other thing I've done in the past is when I've had no choice but to fly someone like RyanAir, I've bought a five quid seat for the guitar too.

Other than that, all my saxes and guitars travel in hard-cases (ABS whenever possible) because I'm a clumsy git at the best of times, and I need the sturdy cases to protect the instruments from me more than anyone else!!! I can highly recommend the Hiscox; economy of scale, the case was a hundred quid, the instrument cost six times that (and that's for a cheap horn) it seems like good sense to me, especially if your horn is of great (sentimental or monetary) value to you.

http://www.randomperspective.com/page.asp?1news/3/048=

Cheers

T.
 
I'm with Griff here.
I took my tenor and sop to the States last year.
I said nothing at check-in.
When I got to the x-ray bit both at Gatwick and Orlando they were very friendly and just asked it I could give them a tune :)
Only shame was I didn't get to see the x-ray of the sax!
When I boarded I didn't mention the sop, just put it in the overhead. No prob.
As for the tenor, I asked as I go on board if they could fit it into a wardrobe or something, which they did with a smile!

The tenor is in a Hiscox case, which I'd trust for strength. I'm always a bit iffy about those catches though, and if it had to go into the hold I'd put a luggage strap round it just to be on the safe side.
 
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