Ok,
So…
Willie Week. Hell yes. This Wednesday.
But other than that..
Is it ok for me to bring my backpack, fiddle, AND pipes with me onto the plane? Would anyone give me a problem? If all else fails, I could stuff my pipes into my backpack.. Carefully of course. Bleh, I’d rather not, but has anyone brought on more than 2 carry-ons/personal blah blah blah before?
Thanks in advance/See you there! [?]
Cheers,
Armand
i be a very frequent flyer.
with 3 carry ons, there is a good chance that they will object. they are supposed to be lenient with musical instruments, allowing them beyond the normal allowance, but they do not always know that.
can you remind me- are we talking about a full set?
and are we talking about a soft case for the pipes?
i would strongly advise, if you want guarentees:
buy the soft case on gallaghers website. use that for your pipes. send non-essentials like tape, wax etc in your luggage, and use the side pocket of your new pipe bag for other essentials for the flight and other valualbles such as camera.
hope this helps
meir
For international, I have gotten on board with my Froment/Mooncoin pipecase and an over-the-shoulder carry-on. Once, I was told the pipecase would be my only carry-on, so I had to take out my camera and sent on the over-the-shoulder as luggage (ugh).
So, fiddle case and pipecase might cause a problem. The rule for international is only one carry-on so you might plan accordingly.
Try to condense your packing as much as possible. That’s one of the benefits of a practice set, is that you can usually squeeze some extra stuff in the case.
Ah yes, silly of me to forget..
Ok, so practice set. My case is a leather bag. Similar to a gym bag except leather.
Well, I’m taking a non-stop flight to Ireland, so I’m sure they’ll know about the allowance since there’ll be other musicians at the airport as well [I’m taking off from Logan Airport, Boston.]
… Actually… I think that I could put all my crap from my backpack into my “pipe case” because there’s soooo much freaking room. YES. AHHH!!! Brilliant!!! I’ll just put my empty backpack in my luggage or just not bring one at all!! There’s enough space to hold books, film, camera, entertainment… ahhh!!! AHHHHHH!!! YES.
Anyways.. Thanks guys, do keep on posting though, it would still be helpful =P
Cheers and need to calm down,
Armand
Yeah, one carry on and one “personal item”. So just put in your pipecase a book or two or whatever you might need on the flight. Pack everything else in your checked on case.
Patrick.
I usually get away with a small rucksack or travel bag and a pipe case. Recently I’ve got a bigger pipe case and I put my passport, wallet and a few books in that so I only have one item to take on. It seems to be less hastle plus it’s easier to get down the aisle with one bag (especially with a large black pipe case, people retreat out of the way quick 
)
I always have found that nearly all the customs officials doing an X-ray scan will wonder what that strange ‘machine gun’ looking thing is in the case and require a search. They soon discover that it is indeed what you say it is (a bagpipe, music instrument) but nearly always must see for themselves!
You get the most puzzled looks from them whilst they are looking at the scanner…it’s very amusing! Probably not so much a problem for Irish customs but most other countries, I’ve had this same reaction.
Here’s what the insurance industry recommends:
Always securely pack musical instruments in a robust and lockable musical instrument case or other suitable protective container.
Arrive at the airport in plenty of time so that the musical instrument can be searched and checked that it is packed securely.
Wherever possible, keep the musical instrument with you as hand luggage to minimise impact damage and possible deterioration due to fluctuating temperature in the aircraft hold.
Load musical instruments into overhead lockers carefully or place them under the seat if there is space and don’t forget to take them with you when you get off the plane.
Cheers!
Andy
Why not get a flight case built to hold both instruments - I’m thinking separate compartments, plenty of foam, etc. I’ve seen double fiddle cases before and they’re not that big, so why not a pipes/fiddle case? If you travel a lot with both instruments, it might be a good investment in the long run.