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Fiddle_it
Posts: 246
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Posted:
12 Jun 2009 at 18:44 |
Hi everyone
Gonna be flying with Ryanair in a couple of weeks with my fiddle. Being Ryanair, I fear I'll be charged an astronomical fee for the privelage of taking it onboard or asked to put it in the hold.
Are there any fiddlers here who have flown with them recently?
cheers |
Jack Campin
Posts: 1214
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Posted:
12 Jun 2009 at 19:16 |
I flew to Budapest with them last year. I managed to sneak a Moldavian kaval (three-foot-long one-piece flute) onto the plane for the trip back but wouldn't risk anything bigger. Whatever they say when you buy your ticket, you can't trust them not to break their word on anything.
I'm doing the same trip this year but I want to take my cobza. So I'm going by bus. |
stevebyrne
Posts: 319
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Posted:
12 Jun 2009 at 21:01 |
Hi Fiddle_it, I would be very very wary, as Ryanair changed their instrument policy wording significantly a few months ago. I was looking up potential flights for a tour [we try to avoid Ryunfair at all costs but needs must etc] and noted that they now say:
"Smaller musical items, such as a guitar, violin or viola which exceed our cabin baggage dimensions may be carried in the cabin, if an extra seat has been purchased."
Their terms used to say "guitar or cello", like most airlines. Of course they are now a money-printing service which involves occasional time spent on an aeroplane.
See:
http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/faqs.php?sect=bag&quest=musicalinstruments&xtmc=musical%20instruments&xtcr=1
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Simon T
Posts: 6470
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 10:23 |
| When I last travelled with them Kevin was charge £25 per flight. So a journey from Edinburgh to Italy would involve probably two flights (stopping in London) would cost £50 extra. |
Skerryvore
Posts: 30
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 11:51 |
We have travelled with Ryanair to Italy a few times and it has always been a nightmare with instruments. We paid over £300 in excess to then discover that it doesn't even cover any damages caused to the instruments- it is basically just for excess weight (which wasn't much). We also had the joy of then watching the baggage controllers launching the instruments onto a trailer! So if possible, book an extra seat for your instrument - you'll then know it's safe and it will probably work out cheaper than paying the extra charges anyway.
D |
Jack Campin
Posts: 1214
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 12:48 |
| Simon calls his concertina "Kevin"? |
MollyD
Posts: 119
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 12:57 |
It just goes to show Ryanair don't really wnat anyone or anything a bit 'different'. Their business is built round moving people around europe, ideally with minimal hand luggage, no checked luggage, no hunger or thirst and an empty bladder.
Anyone who doesn't fit their ideal customer profile is going to have to pay extra for the priviledge of flying with them |
pmckenna
Posts: 65
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 13:14 |
Had bad experiences with ryan air. Went to cork and paid extra cash to get my guitar put into the hold, as they wouldnt let me carry it on, then discovered on the way home that i had to pay again! I tried to fight my corner and in doing so the check in was shut, they wouldnt accept sterling or my credit/switch card so i thought i was pretty much f**kd! but i got checked in eventually.
Also flew to dublin had similar problems after checking in online, then when i got on board saw another guy with his guitar, i wasnt happy.
Wouldnt use them again unless it was a quick trip with no luggage at all. |
MollyD
Posts: 119
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 13:23 |
| Maybe its like trying to take two buggies on Lothian Buses. |
Alistair C
Posts: 912
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 14:00 |
| What about experiences of flying with SAS? |
stevebyrne
Posts: 319
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 15:31 |
I doubt it's indicative of their general policy, but we had a splendidly pain-free trip last month with SAS from Manchester-Copenhagen. I don't think they even weighed our luggage on the way out. We had packed mega-light mind you, over and above the instruments.
I agree with Paul McKenna, Ryanair best left to weekends away on yer hols, except in rare cases where they have a mega-cheap sale (once all 'hidden' extras are paid for, including £5 per person, per leg card payment charge), when buying extra seats is more cost-effective than the good old friendly traditional airlines with proper baggage allowances and fewer rottweilers on their staff. |
Jack Campin
Posts: 1214
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 16:59 |
| A friend of mine used to say the difference between Ryanair and Easyjet was that Easyjet just treated you like cattle, Ryanair used the prod. |
Summers
Posts: 20
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 20:33 |
My humble, personal opinion...
Ryanair - just don't do it. They're cheaper on the face of it and far more expensive (financially and emotionally) in reality. I did my sums recently. For 4 of us plus gear, the flights were going to cost around £130. Once all the Ryanair expenses were calculated, it was going to potentially be in the region of £1500-2000.
SAS - great.
NB me not on SAS commission :-)
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fionafiddler
Posts: 182
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 22:00 |
SAS are great. No problems at all.
Ryanair however. If I were to choose who to fly with it would not be them. However the problem is when festival organisers book your ticket for you and don't realise the policies on instruments. Definately the best thing is to book a seat for your fiddle but they add so much money to that as well for the priviledge of checking in at the airport etc as well.
I have come up with an almost fail safe method however. I have my fiddle case covered in a material which looks like it oculd be a handbag/(man bag!) With pockets in it to put all your other stuff in so that that is your one piece of hand luggage, as you are now not even allowed to bring a bottle of water onto the plane if you already have one piece of luggage. Then make sure you hang your fiddle over your shoulder so that it is vertical down your back. All that should be visible fr the front is a strap over your shoulder. Then get a jacket and no matter how hot or cold it is, drape your jacket over your shoulder so that it is covering the strap AND the fiddle case. If they ask you if you have hand luggage, say No. Sometimes you get away with that. And then you back away from the check in desk as fast as possible then run. If you make it to security you are always ok cos you can just say that check in let you through and they rarely turn you back then. However the last time, they asked to see my hand luggage and I just flashed them a look at the top of the fiddle case with the cover on it (which is nicely patterned like a sofa and looks like a bag and not a music case) and they were fine with that. Alternatively give it to someone who looks trustworthy in the queue to hold for you while you go up to check in or get someone to drop you off at airport and wait with your fiddle away from check in. If all else fails, cry!!! Seriously. That might only work for girls though. But I have used that a few times and always got a result. It is ridiculous to have to go to those lengths and also a bit risky, because I am sure there will be one time I will not get away with this. But it has worked up until now. It just makes the whole travelling experience so stressful and better to avoid than do all this stuff. Good luck!!! |
Gypsum
Posts: 7
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Posted:
13 Jun 2009 at 22:53 |
I took the pipes on Ryanair last year and when I checked in, I held the case below the check-in counter so the only hand baggage they saw was the wee laptop I had. This worked for both the departing and returning flights between Edinburgh and Dublin. Then I got paranoid and wasn't sure I could get away with that again, so when I flew to Dublin a couple weeks ago I took Aer Lingus, which was a bit more expensive but also not bothered about the pipes.
I once took an Easy Jet flight -- can;t remember if it was the Cork or Amsterdam shenanigans -- where the airline refused the pipes and I cried their way on board. This is highly effective if you are young and female and the check in person is male. All of a sudden allowing the instrument onto the plane is a helluva a lot less hassle than dealing with a crying girl in the airport. I strongly recommend it.*
*Also can work with speeding tickets. |
Viper
Posts: 464
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Posted:
14 Jun 2009 at 01:25 |
| Try anything you can to get it in the cabin with you. I had a guitar in the hold last year and the controls were trashed when it got to Edinburgh. Probably by security. They paid for the repair without quibbling though. |
tapeslip
Posts: 117
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Posted:
14 Jun 2009 at 13:32 |
| mmm |
Fiddle_it
Posts: 246
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Posted:
17 Jun 2009 at 17:14 |
I've thought long and hard about how I'd feel if a Ryanair jobsworth insisted that I put my old fiddle in the hold and I've decided to take the electric in my suitcase!
Budget airline? It's costing us, a 3 piece band, an absolute fortune to get to Denmark!!
Emirates every time from now on!! |
boula2
Posts: 2307
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Posted:
17 Jun 2009 at 17:20 |
Ryanair are to start charging for the toilets soon !
What?.................... have they been taken over by P&O ?
When I fly Ryanair it reminds me of the Dingwall Sales, when the Cattle & Sheep are herded into the trucks, and that's not kidding!!! |
MollyD
Posts: 119
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Posted:
17 Jun 2009 at 18:34 |
| It makes sense. Most Ryanair flights are short-haul. Strip two of the toilets out and install 6 extra seats. Reduce the cost per seat and pass the savings on to customers. 100% O'Leary. |
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