Avoiding Cello Flightmares
I just completed a four-city recital and masterclass tour of Brazil, which included one car trip, three domestic flights, and one round-trip international flight. Usually when I travel for concerts, I face the frustration and complexity we all enjoy of bringing the cello onboard, extra ticket gripped firmly in hand. The slightly unusual aspect of this recent tour was that I used borrowed cellos for each concert. I left my own instrument at home for several reasons. Although my room and board was generously covered in each city, most of my flights were not, and I didn't want to pay close to $1k for the extra plane tickets. I didn't want either the physical hassle of carrying it around, nor the emotional/mental hassle from airport personnel in a country I [...]
Victory of the Campaign ‘Fair Treatment for Musicians Traveling on Planes with Their Instruments’
Dear signatories of the FIM petition, This message is to thank you for supporting our campaign 'Fair treatment for musicians traveling on planes with their instruments'. A draft amended regulation has been published by the EU Commission on March 20th, 2013, which includes specific provisions about musical instruments carried on planes, which is exactly what our petition was about (you can access the full document here: http://www.tinyurl.com/ctmddxe and go directly to page 28, article 6e). Of course, there is still some work to be done in order to make sure that the EU Parliament supports - or even improves - the Commission's proposal. But this is already a big success for all of us. I wish to extend our thanks to the EU Commissions' officials who have been carefully listening [...]
Amtrak Charging for Cellos? – by Paul Katz
Amtrak Charging for Cellos? - by Paul Katz The joys of a musical touring career continue! An Amtrak official recently stopped me from boarding a train to Boston in New York's Penn Station, telling me that I must buy a seat for my cello!" I've been traveling Amtrak for 50 years and never once have I had to pay for the cello," I protested. "I don't make the rules, and I don't know what trains you've been riding, but it's on our website, so there is no way you can get on until you get a ticket." The train was leaving in 15 minutes, so what the hell - furious and furiously, I ran to the ticket window and bought a second seat! But later I checked Amtrak's website and [...]
Top Cellist’s Bow is Damaged by US Airport Security — by Paul Katz
Here is the latest travel outrage! Personally, I have never let a security agent handle my instrument and have developed a standard speech that so far, has always worked: "Sorry sir/madam, this instrument is extremely valuable and fragile and that is why I don't check it in baggage. I'm glad to open and close the case for you and let you inspect it thoroughly. But I will hold the instrument for you. If you need to touch the wood, please take off your ring, and be careful your fingernails don't scratch the varnish." That seems to impress them enough that they behave! —Paul Katz Top Cellist's Bow is Damaged: Alban Gerhardt Calls Airport Security Staff "Brutal and Careless". Reprinted from The Strad - Friday, 08 February 2013 Photo: courtesy [...]
“Musician’s Worst Nightmare:” Vintage Gibson Guitar Mangled by Airline Baggage Handlers
Excerpted from Yahoo! News By Dylan Stableford It was a musician's worst nightmare. The guitar case for a 1965 Gibson ES-335 is seen stuck in a Delta gate. (Dave Schneider/Facebook) At least that's how Dave Schneider, guitarist and singer for Hanukkah-themed rock band The LeeVees, described it when his guitar—a 1965 Gibson ES-335—got jammed in an elevator by baggage handlers at a Detroit airport. Schneider was traveling with fellow LeeVees guitarist Adam Gardner from Portland, Maine, to St. Petersburg, Fla., for a gig last month at a conservative temple when their flight was diverted to Rochester, N.Y., due to bad weather, causing them to miss their connection in Philadelphia, Pa. They then drove to Buffalo, N.Y., to hop on a plane destined for Detroit, Mich., where they [...]
Keeping Healthy On The Road (or in Your Dorm, Home or Apartment) — by Mark Summer
The fall being my busiest touring season with Turtle Island, I’m often thinking of the best ways to stay healthy and happy throughout the dark days of “flu season.” After years of almost constant travel, with endless days of connecting plane flights, shared van rides, and occasionally horrifically early lobby calls, I feel somewhat qualified as an expert at keeping my body in tune enough to weather the storm of illnesses that plague the general population. In 27 years, I’ve never missed a concert due to illness. I thought I had the flu once while on the road, but at a recent physical/flu shot pitch, my doctor informed me that if I was able to play a concert, it wasn’t the flu. Nevertheless, my record speaks for itself. I’m not [...]
Delta Kicks Lynn Harrell out of Frequent Flyer Program for Buying Cello its Own Seat
Reprinted from TheConsumerist.com Not wanting to become the Dave Carroll of the classical music world, solo cellist Lynn Harrell purchases a second seat for his cello when they travel together. This should keep everyone happy. The airline sells an extra seat to a very quiet and compliant passenger, and Harrell racks up extra frequent flyer miles that he can put toward future travel for his cello. Delta isn’t happy, though: they’ve kicked him out of their frequent-flyer program and banned him from it forever. His crime? Accruing the frequent-flyer miles that the airline granted to his cello. It’s not exactly a scam to earn free vacations, since he will keep buying full-fare tickets for his instrument for the rest of his career. Okay, it is against the SkyMiles terms and [...]
Tour of Duty, Tour of Pleasure — by Aron Zelkowicz
A postcard from Vienna: By the time the Danube winds into concrete beds through Stadtpark, the water is just a trickle. Children in their parkas swing on the playground, the U-bahn train pulls into its station, and people stroll or bike over the canal’s bridges, all within a stone’s throw of the surface. This view from our hotel is lovely and quaint, for those of us on tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony that have north-facing rooms (those with opposite views can peer down on the bustling skating rink next door). Pittsburghers, no strangers to rivers and bridges, hardly needed reminders of the horrible flooding that occurred this week. The tame canal is at odds with what we’ve seen on the front page of local papers and all over TV. I [...]
Cello Is My Co-Pilot (Part 2) — by Jeffrey Zeigler
I am, of course, a cellist writing to other cellists. So discussing the torment that we all have to go through when we travel with our instruments is, naturally, preaching to the choir. In fact, I wrote a blog post here on CelloBello a few years ago on the topic hoping to give some helpful tips to cellists (Cello Is My Co-Pilot). And in addition to my post, there are quite a few individuals that have written many extremely helpful articles and blogs geared at helping cellists all over the world deal with the hassles of travel. The information is definitely out there to know the basic guidelines that should be followed in order to handle pretty much 99% of the situations that one will face during air travel. So [...]
Travails of Travel with a Cello
Airlines can be sticky about these instruments, no matter how rare and valuable (Excerpted with permission from OttawaCitizen.com) Don’t tell Pinchas Zukerman, but Amanda Forsyth has another man in her life. His name is Carlo. He’s Italian, 300 years old, about four feet tall and made of wood. On second thought, Zukerman has probably met this guy. He lives in a special carbon fibre case in the home he shares with Forsyth. Carlo is, after all, a cello and a very expensive one at that, having been made by Carlo Giuseppe Testore in 1699 and being worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That all makes Forsyth pretty protective of old Carlo, her nickname for her instrument. “He’s my other husband,” she says. “Whenever I go to Italy, I always open [...]
Best Public Response Letters to WestJet Bumping the Cello — by Paul Katz
I want to thank the 200 or so people who have emailed me in support of my dispute with WestJet Airlines and I apologize if your comments were not used below. Don't want this blog to be too, too long! Only 1 email was critical of me and I include it below. The responses are worth reading...illuminating, useful...and a couple are hilarious! —Paul Katz ------------------------------ Dear Paul, I felt absolutely sick when I read your story. I am a flight attendant for XXX Airlines and my husband a Captain of 32 years. I am dumbstruck by the stupidity of airline staff and ultimately airline management when it comes to the handling of priceless instruments on flights. Our twins, a cellist and violinist, experienced similar treatment at the Canadian National Music Competition in [...]
Bumping the Cello: An Exchange Between WestJet’s Robert Barron and Paul Katz
Shortly after my "Airline Nightmare" story appeared in the Boston Globe, WestJet representative Robert Barron wrote a letter of explanation to the Globe. It is reprinted here, with my personal reactions injected. – PK Robert Barron - West Jet Customer Service Agent: First of all, I'd like to say to Mr. Katz that I'm sorry he had such an unpleasant experience flying with us. All of us at WestJet are very proud of our company and its caring culture so we take it personally when we hear people are unhappy with us. The second-last thing I would want to do is cause a guest any upset, but the very last thing I want to do is to jeopardize anyone's safety. While many airlines do permit musical instruments to fly in the cabin, [...]
NPR Podcast of Paul Katz Interview: Skies Less-Than Friendly When Packing A Cello
Reprinted from NPR - National Public Radio Paul Katz bought two tickets — one for himself and one for his cello — in the cabin of a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles. But the captain told him his centuries-old cello had to fly as checked baggage. After an agonizing flight, Katz cried when the captain returned his cello, unharmed. Listen to the Podcast on National Public Radio TRANSCRIPT Copyright © 2012 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. NEAL CONAN, HOST: On a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles, cellist Paul Katz did everything right. He bought two tickets: one for him, one for his instrument, just the same as thousands of flights before. When he showed up [...]
Flying with Your Cello? Print the FAA Passenger’s Bill of Rights to Carry With You
WHEN TRAVELING WITH AN INSTRUMENT, BE SURE TO PRINT THE FOLLOWING PASSENGER'S BILL OF RIGHTS AND CARRY IT ONBOARD WITH YOU! DOWNLOAD PDF The United States’ FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act - SEC. 403 § 41724, adopted by the US Congress on 6 February 2012: H.R.658 - FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 SEC. 403. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. (a) In General- Subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘Sec. 41724. Musical instruments ‘(a) In General- ‘(1) SMALL INSTRUMENTS AS CARRY-ON BAGGAGE- An air carrier providing air transportation shall permit a passenger to carry a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument in the aircraft cabin, without charging the passenger a fee in addition to any standard fee that carrier may require for comparable carry-on baggage, [...]
WQXR Podcast of Paul Katz Interview: the Pitfalls of Taking Musical Instruments on Planes
Listen: Reprinted from WQXR.org U.S. airlines are more punctual and less likely to lose your bag than at any time in more than two decades, according to a recent Associated Press analysis of Bureau of Transportation data. Fewer than three suitcases per 1,000 passengers were reported lost, damaged or delayed from January through June, a record low. But a recent spate of stories concerning musical instruments on airplanes suggests that the skies aren't always friendly for musicians. Paul Katz, a former member of the Cleveland Quartet, recently experienced a particularly dramatic incident involving his 1669 Andrea Guarneri cello and a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles operated by WestJet, which partners with American and Delta, among other carriers. "I was even pre-boarded. I got the royal treatment,” Katz tells host Naomi [...]