Flying Hassle-Free With a Musical Instrument

By Brian Wise | From the September-October issue of Strings Magazine

The rules surrounding musical instruments on airplanes have long been a sour, and sometimes contentious, point for touring musicians. The United States and Canada have standardized rules for instruments as luggage, but elsewhere, including Europe, the skies are not so friendly, as Polish violinist Janusz Wawrowski discovered.

In February 2023, Wawrowski was preparing to board a flight from Vilnius to Warsaw when the ground staff told him that he would have to store his “Polonia” Stradivari in the airplane’s hold. Wawrowski was stunned. The instrument is valued at over $5 million, and it fell within the airline’s dimension and weight thresholds for carry-on luggage. The ground staff wouldn’t budge and said his other option would be to stay in Vilnius.

Not wishing to risk damage to his instrument in the hold, Wawrowski instead took an eight-hour bus trip to his hometown of Konin, Poland, firing off an Instagram post along the way. The airline later apologized, refunded his $2,000 ticket, and updated its policy to give more flexibility to passengers with musical instruments.

Wawrowski’s experience follows a pattern of incidents that draw social media furor followed by incomplete reforms, says Victor Pastor, moderator of the Flying with Musical Instruments Facebook group. “In my opinion, absolutely no airline has improved,” says Pastor, who is also a violinist, conductor, and artistic director of the Orfeu Ensemble de Cambra in Spain. “Around ten or 12 years ago, I used to fly with my regular violin case, even on low-cost airlines, and absolutely nobody asked about the size of my instrument. Now, everything is measured, millimeter by millimeter.”

Pastor adds that some airlines do not adequately inform their staff about updated policies or even backtrack on rule changes. Though hard to quantify, instrument-related stresses especially plague traveling musicians in Europe, the world’s largest air travel market and a continent where worker protections are otherwise comparatively robust. So what should a traveling musician know before booking their next flight overseas? 

What the Rules Say 

Stateside, the Department of Transportation adopted new rules in 2015 requiring that US airlines allow smaller instruments, such as violins and violas, to be treated as carry-on baggage, provided space remains in the passenger cabin. Known as the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, section 403, the rule—despite its caveats—is still the world’s gold standard and applies to US airlines flying to international destinations (Canada passed a similar rule in 2019).

By contrast, musicians flying from a hub like Frankfurt to a festival destination such as Salzburg must wade through a jumble of policies. One resource is an online rating system created by the International Federation of Musicians (FIM), which assigns a green, yellow, or red “traffic light” rating to roughly 125 airlines along with links to their respective instrument policies. Red lights are given to carriers that impose unspecified instrument fees or requirements to buy extra seats for instruments, regardless of their size.

FIM is also making a renewed push for legislation, urging EU regulators to adopt an instrument rule that was first proposed in 2014 and is like that of the US and Canada. A letter to the European Commission this past March cited “inconsistent, often discretionary airline policies” that spell “fewer jobs and smaller income” due to concert cancellations. Thomas Dayan, FIM’s deputy general secretary, blames the stalled legislation on a hesitancy to regulate commercial airlines.

Air travelers in the UK also face inconsistent policies, says Dave Webster, head of the Musicians Union, which represents 34,000 musicians in the UK. “We’ve tried very hard to bring in standardized rules that we’d like to see, but every time we’ve done this, our government has said that they are not prepared to get involved in the commercial decisions of airlines.” With a new Labor government, Webster is hopeful for a more pro-regulation climate, and in the meantime, the union aims to be a resource to touring artists.

Budget or Legacy Airlines? 

On the Flying with Musical Instruments Facebook group, budget airlines draw particular angst, given that they often serve smaller cities where music festivals are found. “Of course, it’s always common to have complaints about these airlines,” Pastor says. “Yes, they are cheaper, but sometimes, they try to treat passengers as cargo.” 

Webster concurs. “The bigger airlines seem to have a capacity to be more able to help,” he says.

But there are plenty of counterexamples. Cellist Steven Isserlis routinely takes to social media to chronicle his travails (and occasional delights) with Lufthansa, Iberia, and, especially, British Airways. Another British cellist, Guy Johnston, commiserates with Isserlis but also credits his travel agent for knowing when to pick up the phone and speak with airline staff. “The whole process is quite a mystery,” he writes in an email. “Best to find a respected travel agent who has experience booking instruments on flights.”

While a student at the Eastman School of Music in the early 2000s, Johnston suffered a blow when his cello was smashed in a plane’s hold. These days when he flies, his main focus is on finding cello-appropriate space in the cabin. He recommends being proactive and asking to speak with a member of the airline staff when arriving at the airport. “It’s worth being a cello diva to be sure you get onto the flight in good time.” 

Mastering Staff and Crew Interactions 

In a YouTube video of “Top 10 Cello Travel Hacks,” cellist Johannes Moser says he allows an extra 30 to 45 minutes to check in. He also says it can’t hurt to tell security and airline staff that one’s instrument is a Stradivari, even if perhaps it isn’t. In a similar vein, Pastor recommends against oversharing. “Don’t show the instrument to the [check-in desk] employees, if possible, even if it’s in a cabin case, because maybe they are told to push hard with musical instruments, or maybe they are not having the most tolerant day of their week.”

Opinions vary on seat location. Pastor prefers the last row. “The last overhead compartments are reserved for the cabin crew, and the last one before these is a bit smaller,” he says. “It’s big enough for an instrument, but not big enough for two suitcases.” There is also added space under the rear seats, though not everyone is a fan of this option (reviewers on Seatguru.com frequently warn against the last row given its proximity to the lavatories).

Chicago-based violinist Holly Mulcahy regularly flies as a soloist and concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She has built up her elite-flier status, allowing for priority boarding and first access to the overhead bins. “I’ve got all my eggs in one basket,” she says. “If I did have to travel on another airline, I would probably bite the bullet and buy early boarding or first class, which sounds really horrible, but it is that bad.”

Mulcahy flies with a small instrument case (under 22 inches in length) and a separate bow tube. She avoids compartments filled with bookended rollaboard bags. “The violin messes up that order,” she notes. “So, my strategy is to look for people with backpacks or smaller bags and just put the violin on top of them. If the compartment is mostly full, I just shut it. People will keep walking by.”

Finally, if the overhead compartments are full, one can ask to speak with the pilot, who is the final arbiter, but even that may have limited utility. “Even if you’ve got a $50,000 or $100,000 instrument, it doesn’t matter,” says Mulcahy. “They’ll say, ‘Sorry. You’ve got to check that. We’re out of space.’ But that’s the rule of the airlines. Just be as charming and awesome as possible.”