Flying with handbells

[Derek H]

Friends -

I know this topic has come up many times in this group, but I also know circumstances sometimes change with airlines.

For anyone who has ever flown with a set of handbells (small or large), what advice can you provide? I'm going to fly my handbell set (G4-G7) from Indy to Phoenix for seminar. The upper third octave case I will probably use as a carry on. The other two cases (which do include loose upper 4th octave bells) will be checked.

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

All the best;
--

Derek Hakes
("...people are beautiful.  Not in looks.  Not in what they say.  Just in what they are." - from "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak)

[Laura Blauch]

Hi Derek,

I checked my set of Silver Melody bells after purchasing them at NS a few years ago.  I used zip ties to secure the case and put extras inside the case if TSA needed to open it for any reason, so they could zip tie them again.  They were not opened by TSA and arrived home safely.

This year I plan to bring a few 8's and will need to figure out whether I can carry them on the plane or if they will need to be checked.  I'm thinking I will call the airline for their guidance.

Looking forward to seeing you in Phoenix!

Laura

--
Post: handb...@googlegroups.com
Subscribe: handbell-l...@googlegroups.com
Unsubscribe: handbell-l+...@googlegroups.com
Digest: e-mail mdp...@gmail.com with subject line "Digest-L"
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Handbell-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to handbell-l+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/handbell-l/CAEHJVNNADAW3Qt3OcTrE_sX05Z7n6Enx3mTzY0Pmx%3Dp%3Dgt0%3DmQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[bfbfb...@gmail.com]

I don’t lock the cases so they can look inside.  I do put a picture of me playing them in there so they’ll know it’s a legitimate musician who isn’t smuggling drugs under the foam.  If the cases don’t have secure latches, one thought is to lock them but attach the key to something around the handle in such a way that they can unlock them and look. 

 

I do put a “This Side Up” sticky thing on the outside so they don’t open the case upside down.  Learned the hard way on that.

 

A dream case down the line is the PortABell solo case.  One case holds C4 to C7 so it’s only one extra bag charge.  And it has wheels. :-)   For flying, since the weight limit was 50 lbs. the last time I flew, I had to remove bells (big ones first) and hold the case while my husband watched the bathroom scale to get it under 50 lbs.  The extra bells were wrapped in clothing in my carry-on.

 

Great to have you flying with bells!!!

Barb Brocker

--