V-Flyer

This piece from the BBC website show how Ryanair have found yet another way to extort money from their passengers. n(

In this case I'm with Ryanair.

Just because it could be stored in the o/h locker dosen't mean they should be. That applies to lots of items too !

And there are several internationally renown musicians who pay top dollar to buy their instrument a seat.

tontybear wrote:In this case I'm with Ryanair.

Just because it could be stored in the o/h locker dosen't mean they should be. That applies to lots of items too !

And there are several internationally renown musicians who pay top dollar to buy their instrument a seat.

I used to work for one of the national opera companies, so often travelled with the orchestra on planes.

If traveling to a hot country (for example we went to Portugal on tour in the summer) a lorry with chillers was used to transport the big stuff - timps, double bases etc. Extra seats were bought for cello's and large brass in the plane. Violins and smaller were all taken as hand luggage.
Mind you, this was pre 9/11, so airlines were more relaxed about you taking two pieces of hand luggage.
But I don't see it being any different to being allowed to take one piece of hand luggage and a purse/handbag/or computer bag which seems to be the norm now.

So I'm with the pax on this one. Ryanair have no flexibility in their rules. Ever. It's an expensive item, which doesn't take up a huge amount of space. Have a heart, I say.

Except for Ryanair. Who seem to be a law unto themselves.

But it's in their T&C's that musical instruments that exceed the carry-on dimensions go either in the hold or a separate seat must be purchased.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/questions/can ... -the-cabin

As for the last comment in the article about "punishing musicians for being musicians", it's no different to someone who cannot fit into a standard seat having to pay for 2 seats.

I'd be interested to know how much they originally paid for the seat.

The problem is that as a violinist you do get conflicting advice - for instance every Virgin FSM and CC I have spoken to say I can take my violin on board, but the VS T&C's say it has to go in the old - it leaves me wondering what to do...

Still, with ryanair you get what you pay for (i.e. not much of either) - I wouldn't think for a moment on ryanair you could take a violin for free.