Flying from UK to US, gear as hand luggage?

[matthewd]

In relation to the question of what to house the kit in, I have used Pelicases for a long time although I noticed recently that SKB have joined the market for this type of case. SKB can be ordered with foam which you cut out or padded dividers. I would think certainly the rack sized gear would survive perfectly well in one of these in the hold. After all, hire companies ship stuff around in Pelicases all the time and these get to travel in the white knuckle DHL / Fed Ex / UPS vans which we all know are the fastest vehicles on the road. I'd probably take the laptop on board with me like every other businessman in the world, so no problem with that. Oh and I'd insure the kit obviously - if something gets lost / crushed it shouldn't be too hard to hire a replacement in an emergency.

Matt

[Please Delete]

I really appreciated all of you advice/opinions. I think it is going to be best to ship the following from the UK to ATL as I am skeptical about putting them in the hold:

Orpheus
Portico
Korg M3 (Module)

Totaling £4500 Roughly

Does anyone have any experience in doing this? how do I clear customs as I already own the equipment and don't want to pay customs charges.

Thanks

[Whitecat]

You need a carnet... here's some info on that.

The London Chamber of Commerce

You'll have to leave a deposit with the issuing agency, which you receive back when you prove that the goods left the country (ie, returned to the UK).

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by terminal3

You need a carnet... here's some info on that.

The London Chamber of Commerce

You'll have to leave a deposit with the issuing agency, which you receive back when you prove that the goods left the country (ie, returned to the UK).

yes, this is the official way of doing it

since most people don't know this then customs officers normally let you off if you don't have one. I have travelled countless times with gear and no carnet with no issue.

If you want to do it properly do it that way, but its probably overkill for this small amount of gear, and a PITA

matt

[Whitecat]

Originally Posted by matt thomas

yes, this is the official way of doing it

since most people don't know this then customs officers normally let you off if you don't have one. I have travelled countless times with gear and no carnet with no issue.

If you want to do it properly do it that way, but its probably overkill for this small amount of gear, and a PITA

matt

I've done it without as well, but I've been hassled ('next time if you don't have a carnet *fist shakes*') etc... doubt any of that went onto my permanent record. it depends just how expensive the stuff looks I think.

A cheat that used to work in Canada is I would take gear to the customs office at the airport, make a list of what I had with serial numbers and Canadian Customs would stamp the list. then if I was re-entering with the kit they would see that yes, this had already been accounted for in the home country. the third time I did that, though, they grumbled and suggested I get a carnet (although they still did it!) no idea if it would even work in other countries, and this was a few years back...

[matt thomas]

Originally Posted by terminal3

A cheat that used to work in Canada is I would take gear to the customs office at the airport, make a list of what I had with serial numbers and Canadian Customs would stamp the list. then if I was re-entering with the kit they would see that yes, this had already been accounted for in the home country. the third time I did that, though, they grumbled and suggested I get a carnet (although they still did it!) no idea if it would even work in other countries, and this was a few years back...

I had virtually the same experience in New Zealand. They didn't like stamping a list and told me I should get a carnet. Since then I have just dealt with officers who ask me, it has only even taken me saying "I took this out of the country when I left" and its been ok.

Once I sent a bass back to America to be repaired and when it was posted back to NZ I had to write and sign a letter to customs to say that it had been sent back for repair, but thats the only issue I ever had.

matt

[Please Delete]

Thanks for the help!

[stereobongos]

Maybe this is already outdated, but I just flew to Spain from NY this spring with a 4-space rack bag (a pair of UA LA-610s) as a carry on in coach. I had a bunch of mics and a macbook in my backpack too. The only trouble I had was schlepping it all through the various airports. Not one person tried to tell me I couldn't do it and if they had I would have (politely) told them to step off. Have fun.

[Remoteness]

I'm glad to hear your positive experience.
Right on!