What Everybody Ought to Know About Traveling With Instruments

Traveling with instruments can be a grueling task, especially when dealing with instruments such as tubas, cellos or anything exceeding 62 linear inches and 50 pounds. When planning a tour, the ensemble director has to consider oversized instrument fees, whether they’ll be accepted by the airlines, and so on. But it really doesn’t have to be this way, especially when you travel with us at Encore Tours! We can come up with ways that will make this much easier for you.

If you are a group leader, we will have you submit your instrument list to us as soon as we know you are traveling. That way, we can submit this to the airlines to determine what size of aircraft will suit your needs best. We can then also assess any problems that might come up and avoid them before they happen.

We would also strongly recommend that you utilize a hard travelling case for your instrument. Although we send the instrument list to the airlines ahead of time, the final decision on any luggage allowance for carry on comes from the airline desk agent at check-in. If you are required to check your instrument, it’s best to be prepared with a protective case — even for smaller instruments. Also, don’t forget to pack your bows, mallets and sheet music!

Don’t want to bring your instrument with you? Passengers can contact their group leader who will then coordinate with us to provide rentals for your group. Unless specifically stated, rentals for string and percussion instruments typically do not include mallets or bows, so ask your group leader for more details.

Our final and perhaps most important suggestion is that you upgrade your insurance. Both our Ultimate Protection (UPP) and Ultimate Protection Plus (UPP+) plans include instrument loss/damage coverage of up to $1000! Conversely, the basic protection plan offers no instrument damage coverage.

If you still have concerns about traveling with your instruments, please contact an Encore Tour consultant. We will make it a smooth process so you won’t have to fret at the airport!