Just in: Airberlin announce new instruments policy

Just in: Airberlin announce new instruments policy

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norman lebrecht

February 24, 2016

Slipped Disc has been asked by the airline to share its new policy on musical instruments. It appears to allow violins on board free of charge, but with exceptions and exclusions that can be applied at the gate.

There is plenty of wriggle room for them to ban or charge for a violin. And the policy has not yet come into force.

Avoid airberlin until it does.

Here’s the statement:

airberlin

 

airberlin liegt die Zufriedenheit ihrer Fluggäste sehr am Herzen. Nach zahlreichen Rückmeldungen von Gästen, die mit einer Geige oder einem vergleichbar großen Musikinstrument reisen, beabsichtigt die airberlin group die Handgepäckregelungen zu ändern. Reisende haben in Kürze die Möglichkeit, ihr Musikinstrument als Handgepäckstück bis zu einer maximalen Größe von 86 x 33 x 23 cm mit an Bord zu nehmen.
Bei airberlin und NIKI ist bei jedem Flug ein Handgepäckstück inklusive. In den Tarifgruppen FlyClassic und Flyflex kann zusätzlich mindestens ein Gepäckstück kostenlos aufgegeben werden. Sobald die neue Regelung umgesetzt ist, wird airberlin darüber informieren.
Bei Flügen, die mit einer Dash Q400 durchgeführt werden, wird im Einzelfall geprüft, ob das Musikinstrument mit in die Kabine genommen werden kann.

Liebe Grüße, David

Comments

  • Peter says:

    Great. The measurement numbers would be covering standard viola cases too.
    The key word in the statement at this point is “beabsichtigt”, means they are thinking about it. They want to make another public statement, as soon as they have decided.

    The statement is very clear regarding violins on board, and the only stated “wiggle room” is concerning the smaller Dash Q400 turboprop airplanes in their fleet. Anyone familiar with the type will know why. The overhead bins are tiny, and simply will not fit a violin case.

    Misleading is their statement about free check in luggage though. They state that only the more costly FlyClassic and FlyFlex tariffs allow one included piece of check in luggage. But in fact also the more affordable FlyDeal tariff includes check in luggage.

    It surely seems to be an Airline managed with a bit of haste.

    https://www.airberlin.com/en-US/site/landingpages/airberlin-yourfare.php?cat=2

  • Tarek says:

    Up to today, the measurement limits are still the same on their website and it was confirmed to me while calling their customer service! It’s petty.

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