By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Won-Bin Yim, professor of violin at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, was distressed when he couldn't get through Delta Air Line's security at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport to catch a plane to New York this fall. The reason: His violin was too big.

"I've been doing the same thing for 11 years, and all of sudden I was told that I cannot carry it with me," says Mr. Yim, who regularly flies between Cincinnati and New York, where he teaches at Juilliard. "My first reaction was, this is ridiculous. This has to change somehow, because it's going to affect all violinists and violists and students."

With stepped-up security at airports since 9-11, traveling musicians are increasingly nervous about whether or not they'll be allowed to board with their violins and violas. The instruments don't fit into Delta's 22 by 14 by 9 inch "Size Wise" metal frames.

No true guidelines

There are no national guidelines for carrying musical instruments on board planes. Musicians say that whether they get on with their instruments is arbitrary and unpredictable. It's purely at the discretion of gate agents or security personnel.

"We're shaking in our boots. It's always an insecure feeling," says violinist Kurt Sassmannshaus, chair of CCM's strings department and director of the Starling Chamber Orchestra. "We have to argue more times than not."

COMPLAINTS

Musicians flying with instruments complain of mistreatment by security personnel who don't understand a musical instrument's worth. While it's being checked, the owner is not allowed to touch their violin or viola, or that would be a security breach. But airline personnel don't know that the oil on ones hands can destroy 300-year-old varnish, musicians say. Varnish, many believe, holds the secret behind the exquisite sound of the rarest instruments. Laurie Carney, a member of the American String Quartet which performed last week in Cincinnati, burst into tears at Los Angeles International Airport last July when a security person violently shook her $500,000, 18th-century violin. "I was so frustrated. You can't say anything to them, because they'll simply haul you away," Ms. Carney says. Now that the federal government has taken over, things are better, she says. Screeners are taught to be careful - not manhandle passengers' possessions, says Suzanne Luber, spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). "If there is an issue that violinists are having, we want to hear about that," Ms. Luber said. "Our screeners receive extensive training. . . . If there were something specific that (passengers) were concerned about, let's say touching the strings of the violin, certainly we would encourage that passenger to tell the screener to be careful right there, but feel free to turn it over and make sure there's nothing that would cause a problem on board the aircraft." Musicians should ask for a supervisor if there is a problem, she says.

For traveling musicians, their instrument is their livelihood. They are accustomed to sliding the light, 30-inch long cases into an overhead compartment, or under a seat. Though most players are tight-lipped about value, an instrument can range from a $10,000 "student" violin or viola, to rare Italian instruments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Recently, a $1.6 million Stradivarius was reported missing from a New York violinmaker. The concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony plays a $6 million Guarneri del Gesu.

It's hit or miss, but musicians are being stopped all over the country. In September, Florida violinist Rochelle Skolnick was told at the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport to check her 250-year-old violin or buy a $620 ticket for it.

"We all know that airline security has changed since Sept. 11, 2001," says Ms. Skolnick, who performs with the Palm Beach Opera Orchestra. "I was not prepared to be barred from passing through security with my violin . . . ."

The options, says Delta spokesperson Kristi Tucker, are to check it, or buy a second seat for the instrument. (Cellists, who have larger instruments, usually buy seats for their cellos. However, the cello gets neither frequent flyer miles nor meals.)

"While we continue to look for ways to allow instruments on board our aircraft, we are constrained by FAA rules surrounding carry-on baggage," Ms. Tucker says. "Unfortunately, the length of a violin case (about 30 inches) precludes the case from fitting into a Size Wise unit, and the case therefore does not fit into carry-on guidelines."

For instruments made of fragile Italian wood - most of them irreplaceable - the chance of damage is high, whether from careless baggage handlers or extreme temperature changes in a cargo hold. Delta's liability for checked baggage is $2,500. For a $50 premium, insurance can be increased to $5,000. That, say musicians, is laughable in the face of the cost of a priceless instrument.

Risk of damage high

Personal insurance usually covers an instrument if it is checked as baggage, says David Mahoney, of Clarion Insurance in New York. But the risk of damage beyond repair is too high for an instrument that is irreplaceable, musicians say.

"They're not going to talk someone who has a precious instrument into putting it under a plane," says Paul Bartel, owner of the Baroque Violin Shop in Finneytown, who was on Friday inspecting two student cellos that were "totaled" last week in flight. "The problem was, what if it had been a valuable instrument?" he says.

The alternative - buying extra seats for violins - could get expensive for a touring symphony orchestra. But the 99-member Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra doesn't anticipate any problems when it travels on an East Coast tour in March, and to Japan in November.

"When the orchestra tours, whether it's internationally or domestically, we always work closely with the airline's representatives as well as our own travel agent to address any issue such as this in advance," says Janell Weinstock, CSO general manager. She adds that none of the CSO's soloists experienced problems traveling to Cincinnati to perform this season.

Musicians often pray they and their instrument will slip through unnoticed. Hoping it would make his violin less conspicuous, Mr. Sassmannshaus purchased a smaller case, with a plastic pipe attached outside for the violin bow. "(Security) gave me a hard time about it," he says. "They said, somebody should design a different one. I said, the design is about 400 years old. It won't change much."

Recently, a Delta supervisor would not allow Laurie Carney to board with her violin in Indianapolis, where she and her husband William Grubb, a CCM faculty member, have a home.

"I've been on that plane dozens of times, and I know the violin fits in the overhead compartment," says the violinist, who is a member of the American String Quartet. "I waited seven hours for a U.S. Airways flight. It's happening more and more often."

Musicians are buying tickets where they feel most sure they'll get on with their instrument. But lately, it amounts to a guessing game.

"In LaGuardia, they are very lenient," says Mr. Yim. "At Cincinnati airport, other terminals are lenient. At Delta, they are more strict."

Last week, United denied boarding to American String Quartet violinist Peter Winograd, on a San Francisco to New York flight. He had to buy his violin a ticket on the spot.

Mr. Sassmannshaus is worried about taking his Starling Chamber Orchestra to Europe in February.

"When you fly European or Asian airlines, you don't have the problem," he says. "I'm surprised that it is not more standardized here."

Not just violins

It's not just violinists who are affected. Airlines are cracking down on musicians toting saxophones, bassoons and guitars. In fact, few American carriers have specific language about musical instruments in their carry-on rules.

Last year, Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which addresses inconsistent treatment of musicians. The trouble is, says Hal Ponder, director of government relations for the American Federation of Musicians, a union representing 100,000 musicians, it's not mandatory.

"The complaints I've heard from all around the country cite Delta more than any other company," says Mr. Ponder, who is working with the Transportation Security Association to write guidelines that he hopes all airlines will adopt. "Even one (incident) is huge, because it means a musician doesn't get to perform at their engagement, so they lose salary, and at the same time, they run the risk of having their . . . instruments damaged."

Controversy not new

The controversy is not new. In 1997, Delta briefly changed its policy for musicians, after the Enquirer story, "Delta's carry-on rules strike sour note with musicians" on June 1, 1997. At the time, violinists and violists who did not check their instruments were stopped at the gate at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, including the CSO, CCM faculty members and the Walnut Hills High School Orchestra.

The Enquirer published the news of the change on June 8, 1997 ("Delta changes carry-on rules for musicians").

The dictum stating that Delta would be strictly enforcing a new carry-on program dates from April 15, 1998, Delta's Ms. Tucker says.

"I can't say with a definitive voice that exceptions haven't been made in the past by individual agents," she says, "but your readers must make plans based on the policy they will most likely face at the airport, and therefore make appropriate arrangements."

The American Symphony Orchestra League offers "Tips for Traveling Musicians" online. Other advice can be found through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at Web site. Delta's policy about musical instruments is at its Web site.

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com