Fly to Montana? Check.

The first step of our concert tour is complete - I’ve just arrived in Montana!

When Heather and I were planning the best route for our tour, we decided that flying me and my cello to Montana then driving back to Boston would be the most efficient way to use our time and money. For all of you cellists out there, you’ve probably already noticed a major complication in our plan - flying with a cello is often a nightmare. Personally, I’ve done a lot of research about the best way to fly with a cello; I’ve asked experienced friends, done a lot of internet research, and of course have my own experiences. I’ve learned a couple of interesting things.

1. There is no way to predict whether you will have problems when you fly. In fact, I have never flown with my cello without having at least one small problem. For example, on my flight to Montana the airline and airplanes changed from when I booked by flight to when I actually flew. This caused seat assignment problems for both legs of my flight. There was no way I could have predicted or prevented this problem. Also, airline workers have this incredible ability to give you an instruction like “go to the gate and they’ll fix it there,” but when you arrive at the gate to have whatever it is fixed they tell you “oh they never should have sent you here (sigh and frustration).” I have a feeling, there is very little real communication between the different people working in an airport… This leads me to my next important lesson…

2. You must always be confident, but friendly when you travel with a cello. There are a couple of obvious and not so obvious reasons for this. First of all, people who work for airlines have pretty stressful jobs when it comes to customer service. I can’t imagine how many people throw fits over window seats every day. When a cello shows up it’s just another huge opportunity for customer complaint (ie seat changes, having to be on a different type of plane, etc). They are already on the defensive, so antagonizing them just doesn’t work. I’ve found that smiling the entire time does wonders for the smoothness of my travel. Even when they give you bad news like “the cello can only be in first class on this flight and we can’t put you or your cello in first class” smiling and being willing to work with them (while still confidently refusing to let your cello be checked) makes them much more likely to bend the rules for you or possibly put the cello in the closet (as they did for me on this trip). Being friendly is one of the few things you can control when you fly and it makes a huge difference.

The other less obvious reason for being friendly is a personal one for me. When you travel with a large and recognizable instrument like a cello, it’s like wearing a sign that says “hey, I’m a musician, I’m strange and exotic and you should ask me all about it.” While, that can often be annoying, it’s also a huge opportunity to draw people into the musical community. If a person has a friendly conversation with a random cellist, I would like to believe that they might be more willing to support a musician in the future or attend concerts. A fun way to deal with the annoying aspects of it all is to notice the repeated questions and keep a tally. On this trip, Heather and I have decided to keep track of two questions:

          “Don’t you wish you played the flute (or piccolo or harmonica)?”

          “Is that a guitar (or bass)?”

We’ve already gotten 2 of both :)

There are lots of other things that factor into flying such as how to safely pack your cello, what airlines are more cello friendly, gate checking, and flight cases. It’s a mess, but it’s all worth it because here I am in beautiful Montana preparing for our first concert!

~ Jen