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When Judy, David and I first started planning this website, among the first things we agreed on was the need for a "Travel Blues" page, a page that would address the trails and tribulations of traveling bassists and cellists. For David, of course, the issue was a natural: he invented the Gage Travel Case to solve some of the problems of associated with traveling. A good travel case such as the Gage Case will help insure the safety of the instrument through most forms of human and inhuman treatment. The instrument can now travel as luggage: for bass players this is essential since most airlines today won't allow basses on board even with a ticket. Cellists can still bring their instrument on board if they have a ticket for it, but over the long haul this is a very expensive proposition. So, a good travel case is indeed an essential survival tool for traveling bassists and cellists; the other essential survival tools are courage, imagination and sheer stubbornness for dealing with airlines, airline agents and baggage handlers. Traveling with a bass or a cello is definitely not for the faint of heart!!

There are, undoubtedly, airlines that are generally friendly to musicians, agents that are helpful and sympathetic, and baggage handlers that actually pay attention to the "Fragile" and "This Side Up" stickers. This page, of course, is dedicated to tips, advice and strategies for dealing with all the other airlines, agents and luggage handlers that are not so nicely inclined. With thousands of bassists and cellists flying every year to and from every possible spot on the earth, there should be no dearth of useful information and illuminating stories. What are some of the best airlines? Airports? What are some of the worst? What is the best way of dealing with recalcitrant, ignorant ticket agents? Are there planes on which you can fit a cello in the overhead compartment? What exactly are the airline regulation regarding basses? These are some of the issues which, with your help, we hope to address.

We start off, completely by accident, with tips from two cellists. We hope bassists will weigh in soon with their information and wisdom. On his website, Erik Friedlander has some excellent advice for the traveling cellist (and bassist), part of which, with his permission, we will reproduce here. As to the other cellist, Maureen McDermott, well I am married to her and over the years I have had plenty of first hand experience with "dread and anxiety" at the airline check-in counter.

Truth is the "dread and anxiety" are mostly mine; Maureen simply goes into performance mode as soon as she gets anywhere near an airport. Her stage face comes on, the adrenaline kicks in, and she doesn't stop until she achieves her goal: to reduce to an absolute minimum the number of steps and people involved in getting her cello on and off the plane. The absolute minimum, of course, would involve getting the cello on the plane herself, something which when she does not have a ticket for the cello is difficult, though not impossible. It certainly can't hurt to ask!! The next level of absolute minimum is getting to take the cello to the jetway from where it can be hand-carried down below to the cargo compartment of the plane. And the final level of absolute minimum is getting someone to hand-carry the cello from the check-in counter to the cargo compartment. Beyond this level, she will not budge: the cello simply does not belong on a carrousel. As for getting the cello off the plane, her strategy involves getting the stewardesses, stewards or pilots to call down below to have the instrument hand-carried back to the jetway. Fearless, determined, and resourceful, she succeeds almost all the time.

One important piece of advice: if you do succeed in getting your instrument to the jetway, be sure to stick around till it gets picked up by the baggage handlers. You don't want to run the risk of having your cello fly all by itself to Cincinnati while you are on your way to Atlanta to play a concert!!

Erik Friedlander at the Check-in Counter

"Stay away from young check-in clerks if you can. I've found an older man is the best. He's seen everything, he's not worried about his job security and he is more willing to bend the rules. A younger employee is worried about doing the "right" thing, following the rule book and learning new things (like how to charge someone for a cello!) A recent check-in lady exclaimed as I arrived at the counter, "Oh! I've never done one of these." My heart sank, I knew I was in trouble. She ignored my attempts as she paged through pages and pages of 'online' data about what to charge someone for various oversize and over-weight items. It's tricky. Here's what I do.

• I never check anything but the cello: I always say, "This is all I'm checking." The Gage case is not heavy and with the cello only weighs 38-40 pounds which is not over weight.
• If they do mention charging you, don't jump to your defense, take some time, let it hang there.
• If you jump in their face they are likely to develop a strong dislike for you making it easier to charge you.
• Things you can say:
  • "This is the only thing I'm checking."
  • "I know it's oversize but it's not heavy, could you let me slide this time?"
  • "They didn't charge me on the way out." [I've found this rarely works...]
• Make some kind of personal connection as you arrive at the counter, their job is a drag and if you can show that you understand this by being friendly, without being phoney, it helps.
• Try not to pile too many requests one on top of the other when you arrive at the check-in counter. Have your ID ready and your tickets out and wait until after you've made it through the cello problem and then deal with seat choice (aisle, window, etc.), meals, etc.

If they do insist on charging it should only be for the size or "dimensional inches" not the weight. Some international carriers will charge a per mile rate which can really add up make sure you understand it all before you whip out your charge card [this has never happened to me but I've heard about it]."

To read the rest of Erik's advice on traveling with a cello, please visit his website.