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Easy Jet. Have you taken a bass on a flight with them?


mattbass6
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Has anyone flown with their bass on Easy Jet? I have a gig in Switzerland in December. I have flown to so many countries with what have seemed to be, very reliable carriers. I have travelled with my main basses but I’ve never done it with Easy Jet. I’m a tad cautious about them, and therefore thinking about buying a 2nd hand bass that will be “replaceable”. Any stories, good or bad, about your experiences, please? 

Edited by mattbass6
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Phone them, and speak to someone fairly high up. With airlines I think you can speak to five different people and be told five different things. Ultimately it’s down to whoever you see on the day. Is it possible or affordable to buy a seat for your instrument?

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2 minutes ago, ambient said:

Phone them, and speak to someone fairly high up. With airlines I think you can speak to five different people and be told five different things. Ultimately it’s down to whoever you see on the day. Is it possible or affordable to buy a seat for your instrument?

This is being booked by the promoter so, as is always the case unless you are Iron Maiden, they will be looking to save as much money as possible. Wise words though, I will have to call. I’d just like to hear any bass players experiences with Easy Jet. Cheers

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It’s not the airline that actually handles your gear/luggage but the handling company they employ, and this will be different according to the country you’re aiming at. Also different at different UK airports.

Unless you’re actually taking it in the cabin with you then I’d go with a full fat flight case as already suggested. 

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I fly EasyJet a lot. I stick the bass in a SKB iSeries case in the hold. Only ever had a problem with an inappropriate surcharge at Pisa airport ( documented in another thread). Apart from that I’ve done dozens of flights on easyJet with my bass and hasd no issues. A good flight case is worth it. Can’t beat SKB iSeries.

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I’ve flown a few times to gigs with Easyjet, bass in the hold, no problems. I use a Hiscox case which apart from full flight cases are probably the cases that offer the most protection. I also don’t use my main bass, preferring to take one of lesser value, just in case. But to date no issues though I have to admit the first time I was very nervous.

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16 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

A full-fat flightcase (not SKB or similar plastic thingy) has to be a sensible precaution.

I used to have a full flight. They’re really too heavy to lug about airports and eat up luggage allowance. Great if your gear travels as freight though. For the last few years I have been using SKB iSeries cases. They’re very very strong, much lighter and have wheels. Win win win

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Guitarist and myself flew a few EasyJets and carried on a bass and guitar. However, one jobs worth  ‘I’ve got an easyJet badge’ at Gatwick persevered in stopping us taking them onboard. “They will go in a ‘safe hold” he said. That’s not the problem as I witnessed the Venice airport groudstaff throw the guitar a good few metres from cargo hold to trolley, luckily no breakage.

i went back to using my SKB with wheels. Inform whoever is booking you that hold luggage is to be booked as well...( you can get a couple of days cloths in an SKB as well!)

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Some mates of mine, guitar and bass, fly constantly to and from cruise ships and always take their instruments to the gate and hand them over there. No different to a baby buggy and at least it doesn't go through all the conveyor system and multiple baggage handlers. They retrieve them at the other end straight from the hold.

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3 hours ago, BassBunny said:

Some mates of mine, guitar and bass, fly constantly to and from cruise ships and always take their instruments to the gate and hand them over there. No different to a baby buggy and at least it doesn't go through all the conveyor system and multiple baggage handlers. They retrieve them at the other end straight from the hold.

This ^... If you don’t want to pay for an extra seat and leave your bass at the mercy of baggage handlers. It should come out at the oversize section of baggage reclaim rather than the usual carousel.

On a related note I’m currently on hols in Portugal, flew easyJet as usual and brought my new Yammy silent guitar in the cabin as my hand luggage. It’s in a slightly narrower than usual gig bag with a pocket for anything else I need on board and fits in the overhead bin.

Point I’m making is that the EZY crew couldn’t have been more helpful, offering to keep it up front with them if bin space was too restricted. Fortunately there were a few empty seats so I managed to keep it overhead. I notified EZY in advance on their e-chat thingy that I was going to be carrying an instrument in the cabin and took a screenshot the conversation just in case. Didn’t need it.

Now all I need is a nice Status Streamline to test whether it works for holiday bass practice! 👍

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Thank you so much everyone. That was really, really helpful. I’ve decided to buy a good gig bag and an SKB Roto case with the ATA locks. Better than buying a bass I don’t want to play as a “just in case”. I’ll also phone ahead and get it checked in to the hold, at the gate as “oversized” baggage. If I’m honest, I did that with BA, but forgot about it. 

Thanks again, you lot are ace. Appreciated. Cheers

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