Posted by Kenneth Sloan on September 16, 2003 at 23:24:40:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Charges for flying with a tuba?? posted by tubadad on September 16, 2003 at 10:50:24:
The best way to avoid surprises is to know the rules (and perhaps carry a copy with you.
If (as your posting implies) you already know that the tuba case violates the rules, then it's a crapshoot. Everytime you show up, you are gambling that the clerks won't notice what you already know - that the case is too big to quailfy as "luggage".
It seems to me that the "uncertainty" in this case is not the airline's fault.
Last time this topic went around, I went out on a limb and predicted that we will soon see consumer-friendly shipping services. If I travelled often (more than once per year) with oversize baggage, I think I would be investigating a close relationship with a freight company. Trucks will get things from here to there remarkably quickly (but...not coast-to-coast in 4 hours). With a little planning, travel such as back-and-forth to school can be made pretty easy.
As a side benefit...you can stroll through the airport with a flight bag and a smile, and print your own boarding passes - completely bypassing the baggage-check counter.