Faolrua

I'm not sure where you're getting that from my post. I'm simply trying to get information on traveling with my instrument, which I originally purchased AS a travel instrument based on the maker's assertion that it would "fit in the overhead bin or garment closet of most airliners. I'm certainly not asking for an exception to be made for me.

FWIW, while this is not the case with me, many musicians are flying with instruments they need to do the job they're flying someplace to do. Given the fragile nature of most musical instruments, and the airlines' reputation for mishandling them, it's not surprising that you find many musicians trying to work out a way to take their instruments into the cabin with them.

Given the huge, overstuffed "carry-on" bags I've seen travelers try to cram into the overhead bins to avoid having to pay to check a bag, I'm not sure musicians are the problem here in any case. If there were a reasonably safe way for me to ship my instrument in the baggage hold without having to worry about storing or ditching the packaging in Dublin and retrieving it or re-creating it when I'm ready to come home, I would do so. Would that more people who are only shipping clothing and toiletries for a week's stay would have the same attitude...maybe we'd see more space in the bins, as we used to back before the airlines started charging fees for checked bags. But I'm in Dublin for all of two days coming and going, and staying in a hostel, which does not offer long-term storage, so that's not really an option in my case.