Safest Way To Travel With Concertina

[Chris Allert]

sorry to start a new thread on this, but what is the safest way to get from one part of the world to another with your concertina? i tried to follow the other thread, but the discussion has moved on to other topics.

 

should i overnight express the concertina to myself in the destination city? will they let me carry it on the train? do i need to hire a car? i really want to know.

[Leo]

sorry to start a new thread on this, but what is the safest way to get from one part of the world to another with your concertina? i tried to follow the other thread, but the discussion has moved on to other topics.

 

should i overnight express the concertina to myself in the destination city? will they let me carry it on the train? do i need to hire a car? i really want to know.

 

Chris

In a short answer YES!; Don't know.; Maybe.; and I do know!

 

Seriously, I will strongly suggest packing it as well as you're comfortable with, then double it. Use Fedex, UPS, DHL, or etc. Get a "Tracking Number", Insure it for value. Then ship it to yourself or someone else prepaid with enough time and a note for a place of delivery or pickup. Read: "MOST RELIABLE". The value of control of my "stuff" in carryon bags has become nonexistent under the latest versions of "acceptable travel requirements". With all the unknowns: misconnect, baggage handlers, and limits on value of "checked baggage", the airlines coupled with extra security limitations, there is no way to know how your "package" is progressing. If at all. Personally I'm not willing to accept those unknowns. I don't have any experience with trains.

 

If you've a mind of "international travel" I find it difficult to picture an automobile; long stretches of water and no place for fuel and rest stops. Generally stateside travel up to about 400 Statute miles it is faster to drive. You can plan on one mile in one minit divided by 60 gives hours: 300 miles=300 minits= 5 hours. It used to be 200 miles but under the circumstances the changes made planning to allow for more time necessary. Now the old addage of "time to spare, go by air" has new meaning.

 

Buried in "that thread" are some words of wisdom both personal experiences, and professional observations. Most of them are not very complementary to carryon or checked baggage. Mostly all true. Yes it has digressed a slight but but the underlying information is there, albeit a little cumbersome to sort through. Appologise for my own digressing there, and humbly accept correction if offered.

 

Hope this helps

Thanks

Leo

Edited September 11, 2006 by Leo

[David Barnert]

Joke at work today:

 

Vulture in an airport, dragging the carcass of a dead mule up to the ticket counter.

 

Ticket agent: I hope you're not thinking of checking that thing as baggage!

 

Vulture: Nope. It's carryon.

[Woody]

I think there's no really reassuring answer to this when flying at the moment.

 

From the other thread (page 8!)....

 

The old test baskets to measure hand baggage size have been hastily reduced in size, by having plywood strips fitted around the the top, to conform to the new restricitions.... Security staff were vetting everyone before they even got as far as the X-ray machines, and insisting that anything larger than a laptop or handbag was tested against the framework. ..... I thought I might just get away with the concertina - which was in a small cube case ..... but it exceeded by an inch in one dimension..... So out came the instrument from its case and.... it fitted snugly into the frame. The bizarre outcome was that I made the flight to Manchester cradling my uncased, 100-year-old Crabb, in my lap, while its empty case travelled in the hold as check-in.

With Brian's experience, if the Concertina itself meets the size requirements you could possibly get it on board a plane with just a thin soft case. Of course you'd need to bring all the heavy duty packing in case they say you have to put it in the hold.

 

With sending via UPS of similar internationally, as I've mentioned elsewhere, it might be a good idea to check out how this will be treated legally with Customs charges etc. If I import an instrument from the USA to the UK I think it's roughly 30% of value I have to pay. I don't know how you let them know that this is not an instrument import - there surely has to be a way - but it would be worth checking all this out before shipping it.

 

- W

[Leo]

I think there's no really reassuring answer to this when flying at the moment.

 

With sending via UPS of similar internationally, as I/'ve mentioned elsewhere, it might be a good idea to check out how this will be treated legally with Customs charges etc. If I import an instrument from the USA to the UK I think it's roughly 30% of value I have to pay. I don't know how you let them know that this is not an instrument import - there surely has to be a way - but it would be worth checking all this out before shipping it.

 

- W

 

Woody

That's generally correct. In this case Stateside there is no import fee if shipping my own property to myself. I don't know about going from the US to another country. Those rules are country specific, and every one is different. The International shippers have all that information at hand and are generally pretty good at clarifying the fees. I'm pretty sure there are limits to what can be shipped. However I believe "personal property" for "personal use" (use these words) with proof of ownership is exempt. I can't be importing it if it's already there/here, and the duty paid when it first came into the country.

 

An example:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation.../send_to_us.xml

 

Manchester, NH USA has different rules than Manchester UK

Your other suggestion would be ok if there were no airplane changes enroute, which opens up a whole other can of worms, and back at the mercy of baggage handlers and transfers that may not make it. Not counting the unknown size of the airplanes that have limited carry ons like the Canadair and Embrarer equipment in the States. Which bring us back to the origina dilema: "Most Reliable" Ship it.

 

Thanks

Leo

Edited August 31, 2006 by Leo

[JimLucas]

sorry to start a new thread on this, but what is the safest way to get from one part of the world to another with your concertina?

At this point in time, there may be no truly safe way if you're flying. Carryon was it, but if you're not allowed to carry it on, then checked baggage is the only option, and the rules and procedures for checked baggage are set up to protect the handlers againsts liability, not to protect the handled against damage.

 

Trains -- or buses -- should be no problem. As far as I know, no train or bus line -- at least in Europe or North America -- has yet implemented blanket security screening (nor security blanket screening ) for either checked bags or carryon. But trains and buses aren't yet available for trans-ocean travel.

 

Travelling overseas? Many cargo ships are willing and able to book the odd passenger, though they don't solicit passengers and usually don't carry any. And aside from taking much longer, the only "luxury" will be the constant availability of sea air. No swimming pools or shuffleboard, and no other passengers to socialize with. But if they have a limitation on carryon baggage, it's probably at least half a ton.

 

should i overnight express the concertina to myself in the destination city?

Though I was one who suggested that pre-shipping your concertina might be a viable alternative, I have since had second thoughts, at least for any stay abroad of less than a month. Aside from the intricacies and pitfalls of dealing with customs regulations in international travel, it has occurred to me that if enough people get that same idea, the customs authorities and maybe even the shippers will be as overwhelmed as were the baggage handlers at Heathrow, where news reports said there was a 30-foot (10-meter) high mountain of checked baggage that had not been processed.

 

will they let me carry it on the train? do i need to hire a car? i really want to know.

Sounds to me as if what you want to be is reassured. I won't do that. I think it would be a lie. It may be that -- for now -- the only safe option is to not take the concertina.

[Brian Peters]

With Brian's experience, if the Concertina itself meets the size requirements you could possibly get it on board a plane with just a thin soft case. Of course you'd need to bring all the heavy duty packing in case they say you have to put it in the hold.

In my case I think the clearance was such that a plastic bag would have been about as thin as the case needed to be! But dead right, if you used this option you'd certainly want to have the heavy packing in case of emergency.

 

As far as I know, though, these restrictions on hand baggage size are only operating at British airports. Anybody who knows otherwise please speak up, but as far as I know flights leaving the US, mainland Europe and elsewhere should be unaffected. Certainly I had no problems boarding a plane in Canada with concertina and melodeon as my and my wife's two permitted pieces of hand baggage.

[Woody]

In my case I think the clearance was such that a plastic bag would have been about as thin as the case needed to be!

Perhaps you could try going through security with a case stuffed down your trousers? Though admittedly that might lead to a whole new raft of problems.

[Brian Peters]

Perhaps you could try going through security with a case stuffed down your trousers? Though admittedly that might lead to a whole new raft of problems.

I'm tempted to claim that I have no need for such enhancement, but that would be both crude and off-topic.

[Woody]

Perhaps you could try going through security with a case stuffed down your trousers? Though admittedly that might lead to a whole new raft of problems.

I'm tempted to claim that I have no need for such enhancement, but that would be both crude and off-topic.

 

[JimLucas]

In my case I think the clearance was such that a plastic bag would have been about as thin as the case needed to be!

Perhaps you could try going through security with a case stuffed down your trousers? ...

I think that would give a whole new interpretation to the term 'boxer shorts.

[Alan Miller]

Just to wander back on topic for the moment--I have had no trouble with the concertina as a carry-on item on domestic U.S. flights. I flew from Boston the day of the London arrests, and at at time when security was heightened so that tooth paste etc. were being confiscated, and the wait was over an hour and a half. The concertina was not an issue. It did not raise a question or cause a comment. I flew from Minneapolis today with no problem. The security person said that I should just tell people that it is a musical instrument, and they will put it on the belt carefully so it doesn't bump into other objects.

 

I probably carry it on board on 50 flights a year without problem, although most are domestic U.S. My overseas experience in Shannon and London has also been good but that was before the latest arrests. Last year, one security person at Shannon asked if I had ever been to Willie Week. I will be going to Shannon in October and will check with the airline first but I don't expect an issue.

 

In general, people are very cooperative, and often smile about the instrument or say that one of their relatives played. If they want a closer look, I ask to remove it from the gig bag that I use for travel, and they cooperate. I have not yet been asked to play, and if that happens the smiles may turn a bit sour. But my point is that based on my experience, there should be no problem carrying a concertina on board on a domestic U.S. flight. My only real concern would be international flights, and in particular BA. I would absolutely avoid checking it through as luggage an any flight.

[Theodore Kloba]

In general, people are very cooperative, and often smile about the instrument or say that one of their relatives played.

Whether it's done consciously or not, this kind of small talk about the instrument might actually be an effective security measure; I imagine the response of a musician and a potential terrorist would be different.

[Leo]

In my case I think the clearance was such that a plastic bag would have been about as thin as the case needed to be!

Perhaps you could try going through security with a case stuffed down your trousers? ...

I think that would give a whole new interpretation to the term 'boxer shorts.

 

So let me get this straight. For future security, profiling, and success in travel you're collective wisdom suggests that us "lightweight boxers" would have less trouble than a "heavyweight boxer", and the new preferred travel case for a concertina would need to be thin, easy to stow when not needed, easily recognisabe, have a picture of the contents on the outside, and have multiple uses.

 

Like this:

 

Would they have to be gender specific??

Thanks

Leo

Edited September 3, 2006 by Leo

[Chris Timson]

Oh ho ho ho ho, ha ha ha, hee, hee, ho, ho, ho.

 

Nice one,

 

Chris

[Henrik Müller]

My latest experiences with travel:

 

I left Denmark on the morning of the latest incident in the UK, with 45 minutes delay as the only result, my newly built concertina and case checked in as hand luggage.

 

After Bradfield, I went on to Kilrush, flying Manchester-Dublin. Always the suspicious, I checked Manchester Airport web site in the morning and noted the 45x35x16 cm limits on hand luggage (the case is 22x22x22).

 

To be prepared, I repacked my suitcase with all clothes as small modules and sure enough, in Manchester I had to take out the concertina and packed in the middle of the clothes, filling up the case with used underwear and tee shirts, and checking that in as well.

 

Same procedure on the way back - from Shannon to Heathrow, Heathrow to Copenhagen. Heathrow seemed to be obsessed with size only - all the "check-your-hand-luggage-here" templates had been changed to match 45x35x16cm. My concertina would have slipped through that (158.75 mm across the flats).

 

What would happen if I carried the instrument in a plain plastic bag - anyone tried that? A concertina looks definitely less suspicious (though weirder) on X-ray than a video camera, I would say.

 

/Henrik

[Alan Miller]

Henrik: Can I safely assume from your posting that you encountered no problem with the concertina (and case) as carry-on items at Shannon? I will be flying there in October and want to be prepared.

 

You also mentioned size restrictions you encountered at other airports. My concertina is within those restrictions, but the gig bag I use for travel would be too large. Frankly, given the choice between checking the concertina itself as luggage or carrying it on with no case, I would carry it on with no case.

 

I have never traveled with the concertina in a plastic bag, but I know that some people keep their concertina in a plastic bag before putting it in the case. They believe that this helps maintain a consistent level of humidity when traveling. But that is a whole separate topic on which I have no opinion.

 

Thanks for your information, Alan

[Henrik Müller]

Henrik: Can I safely assume from your posting that you encountered no problem with the concertina (and case) as carry-on items at Shannon? I will be flying there in October and want to be prepared.

 

You also mentioned size restrictions you encountered at other airports. My concertina is within those restrictions, but the gig bag I use for travel would be too large. Frankly, given the choice between checking the concertina itself as luggage or carrying it on with no case, I would carry it on with no case.

 

I have never traveled with the concertina in a plastic bag, but I know that some people keep their concertina in a plastic bag before putting it in the case. They believe that this helps maintain a consistent level of humidity when traveling. But that is a whole separate topic on which I have no opinion.

 

Thanks for your information, Alan

Hi, Alan -

 

For clarity (with all little, nitty-gritty details):

No problems at all. At Shannon, I showed them the case and said: "Obviously, this is a concertina case. The instrument itself is in the suitcase there (pointing to it) and the case contains clothes and I check that in as well."

 

"Fine", the lady said. That was it. But Shannon may be easy - they see Noel Hill all the time, as Newcastle UK sees Alistair Anderson.

 

I am still puzzled at the focus on size. I am not saying that I am delighted by the aspects of having the instrument in a plastic bag - I am merely (repeating myself) intrigued - and would love a good answer to this - by what the reaction would be to carrying it on board.

 

Has anybody actually officially asked an airport security officer in order to sort out things before leaving - to know beforehand?

 

Another problem can be that one gets different answers from different people at the same airport: when I flew out from Manchester, I first asked one guy at the "Luggage check point":

 

"Nope: check it in"

 

Five minutes later I asked a colleague of his, standing a few meters away, outside the counter:

"What's in it?"

- "A concertina"

"No problem"

- "Oh - thanks" (my 16 cm wide alarm bell ringing!!)

 

Then - at the check-in counter:

"What's that?"

- "A musical instrument, a concertina - you know, small accordion"

"Just a sec, I'll call"

...

"There's a man here with a sort of cubic box with metal corners... eh? Oh, OK, then"

"Nope - check it in"

- "Grrrr. OK - what if I place the instrument inside the suitcase and check in the empty case."

"Fine"

 

Which I did (as described above).

 

/Henrik