Musical instruments on Ryanair again

[BaronChotzinoff]

ISTR asking about this some time ago but it must have been archived. Anyhow, it seems Ryanair have hit upon extorting money from musicians for instruments as hand luggage, to the tune of an extra seat - see this thread (http://www.violinist.com/discussion/response.cfm?ID=13230&show=all) on a music forum.

Can those of you who work for Ryanair confirm if you would ever actually enforce this, ie a violin on board would actually have to have its own boarding pass? :\ After reading the blurb some time ago I did ask onboard crew who reiterated what everyone knows, that it's perfectly OK to take a violin aboard and it fits in the OH lockers no problem!

[Langball]

I travelled this Christmas on Ryanair with a lady who carried a violin in the overhead bin. No problem. I'm sure she didn't bring it to anyones attention that it was a musical instrument though.

She travelled last year with her 'good' instrument that is apparently worth over a million euros. She literally doesn't leave that instrument out of her sight, accompanies here everywhere. Can't remember, but I think it still went in the overhead bin (as you can imageine it's in a kevlar case).

[BaronChotzinoff]

If you look at Easyjet's website (and probably most others) it says that such things are "at the discretion of the Captain". There's a good story posted on another forum by an airline pilot who is an excellent amateur violinist and also friends with a world-class player called Aaron Rosand. The latter plays on an instrument even more exclusive than a Strad, a Guarneri del Gesu. He wasn't mentioned by name in the story but I'm sure it was he.

Anyway, unbeknown to AR this chap was at the flightdeck when Rosand boarded the aircraft, with his priceless instrument. He was sent a message via the cabin crew that if he wanted to fly that day he's better get "that thing" put in the hold PDQ. Then sat back p1ssing himself laughing as his friend erupted in indignation, outrage, and everything else a musician suffering at the hands of a tyrannical captain or Ryanair's extortive policies would erupt in. Let's hope it never happens, for real, to any of us.