Watch: Zubin is back at work

George Rupp says:

A warning to all musicians, especially violinists, violists, clarinettists, trumpeters, … : don’t book your flights with Iberia, because you run the risk of having to pay hundreds of Euros extra for an additional seat. Of course, there are other airlines that don’t accept musical instruments with cases not rigorously within the standard dimensions as carry-on baggage in the cabin. The treacherous thing about Iberia is that its rules for carry on baggage do explicitly state that small musical instruments, with dimensions not exceeding 30 x 120 x 38 cm, are accepted. The snag is that your Iberia flight may inadvertently be operated by Vueling, whose rules for carry-on baggage prohibit any item with dimensions exceeding the standard 55 x 40 x 20 cm, with weight up to 10 kg. Even a small violin case with dimensions 30 x 80 x 15 and only 5 kg is refused by Vueling. And what does Iberia do to wash its hands of this trap, on a strictly formal legal basis? Putting a tiny footnote in its carry-on rules, stating:

“For flights operated by Iberia Regional Air Nostrum or Vueling (IB8XXX and IB5XXX), these companies’ specific regulations will apply.”

Of course, when you happen to read that tiny footnote it’s probably too late already and you’ll have to pay a lot of extra money, or risk your precious instrument being destroyed in the airplane’s hold, as happened not long ago with a 300-year-old viola de gamba at Alitalia. So, musicians, be very careful where you book your next flight.