how to travel with cues intl?

banged up

banged up

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm planning to retire abroad soon and wondering about the best options for transporting my cues and equipment safely through a plane ride and baggage handlers. I have a partially hard/soft golf club case that fits everything inside. Is that sufficient, or should I consider something better? Any advice would be appreciated.
 
The best is an ATA case.
Danbuilt has them specifically for cues, but you can get a standard ATA case and put whatever you want in it.

For an individual cue case or two an ATA golf club case would probably be great.
 
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Just don’t bring any cues with ivory unless you have CITES documentation to avoid problems that could be worse than you imagine. It is a serious issue that should not be dismissed lightly otherwise you may regret doing it. Best of Luck relocating.
 
Bavafongoul said:
Just don’t bring any cues with ivory unless you have CITES documentation to avoid problems that could be worse than you imagine. It is a serious issue that should not be dismissed lightly otherwise you may regret doing it. Best of Luck relocating.
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Yes, and then there are the laws and regulations of whatever the destination is. Could be hard to predict. In many countries the authorities don't really follow the law, corruption is the name of the game. And Americans are targets almost everywhere.
 
My preferred approach for international travel with cues is one or two JB 3x6 case/cases inside a Nanuk 985 hardshell.

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Benelli said:
My preferred approach for international travel with cues is one or two JB 3x6 case/cases inside a Nanuk 985 hardshell.

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Pelican and others make great cases that can be used. I have repurposed musical instrument cases, and medical instrument cases as well.

My wife and I were looking at fabrics last evening to make sleeve liners for a repurposed big tube case. I don't know what it was originally for but I got it cheap. It's plenty robust enough for airline use. Don't know how many cues it will hold yet.

As far as being creative for carry, I have a black canvass golf club case, like a quiver. It's small. A Fellini, Centennial, Engles, etc. slides right in and it gives me pockets, a handle, shoulder strap, and protection for valuable cases.
 
A lot of the pros just pack their cue case inside a large suitcase with the rest of their stuff.
There is also a dedicated travel cases to put the case in it but I would only go this way with a good hard case. For soft case the above method is better. A separate case may also require extra cost for extra luggage so I guess one big suitcase to hold everything might be best.
 
skor said:
A lot of the pros just pack their cue case inside a large suitcase with the rest of their stuff.
There is also a dedicated travel cases to put the case in it but I would only go this way with a good hard case. For soft case the above method is better. A separate case may also require extra cost for extra luggage so I guess one big suitcase to hold everything might be best.
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I used to travel with two cases, a Fellini for my Joss and a good 1x1 box case for my break cue. I flew a lot internationally with those two just packed in a military duffle bag with all my clothes and stuff packed around them.

But, every time this comes up I will say the "best" is an ATA case. It certainly may not be the right choice for many players and occasions.

I remember a person traveling with a real Stradivarius violin. They actually bought a seat on the plane for the violin. That wasn't always allowed, so sometimes it had to go in the cargo/luggage hold. The case alone was worth more than most violins, so the case had a case. They either paid for an extra seat, or they paid extra for the luggage because of the size/weight of that specially made ATA case. Their violin bows were another story altogether and the case and bows were probably more valuable than most houses.


Personally, I have gotten back to case making. I have been thinking to address the matter of a specialty case for flights. And I mean for individual cues, like a 1x2 or something like that, not the big dealer/collector ATA cases. It could potentially also be for shipping valuable cues. I have my ideas, we will see if I do anything with them.
 
Chopdoc said:
I used to travel with two cases, a Fellini for my Joss and a good 1x1 box case for my break cue. I flew a lot internationally with those two just packed in a military duffle bag with all my clothes and stuff packed around them.

But, every time this comes up I will say the "best" is an ATA case. It certainly may not be the right choice for many players and occasions.

I remember a person traveling with a real Stradivarius violin. They actually bought a seat on the plane for the violin. That wasn't always allowed, so sometimes it had to go in the cargo/luggage hold. The case alone was worth more than most violins, so the case had a case. They either paid for an extra seat, or they paid extra for the luggage because of the size/weight of that specially made ATA case. Their violin bows were another story altogether and the case and bows were probably more valuable than most houses.


Personally, I have gotten back to case making. I have been thinking to address the matter of a specialty case for flights. And I mean for individual cues, like a 1x2 or something like that, not the big dealer/collector ATA cases. It could potentially also be for shipping valuable cues. I have my ideas, we will see if I do anything with them.
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I flew once from Hong Kong with a Zero Halliburton 2x4 that I picked there, I had one cue inside and foolishly I locked the case and checked it.
When I got it, it was really banged up and the locks were busted...

When I flew to the European Championships, I had a cheap Buffalo case in a Sterling travel case with a TSA lock and everything made the round trip just fine.

If I was to travel with cues today, I would probably go with the case inside a suitcase way, seems safer. I don't see myself flying with cues anymore... I rather pack a camera (and yes, I've done both and never again)
 
Chopdoc said:
I used to travel with two cases, a Fellini for my Joss and a good 1x1 box case for my break cue. I flew a lot internationally with those two just packed in a military duffle bag with all my clothes and stuff packed around them.

But, every time this comes up I will say the "best" is an ATA case. It certainly may not be the right choice for many players and occasions.

I remember a person traveling with a real Stradivarius violin. They actually bought a seat on the plane for the violin. That wasn't always allowed, so sometimes it had to go in the cargo/luggage hold. The case alone was worth more than most violins, so the case had a case. They either paid for an extra seat, or they paid extra for the luggage because of the size/weight of that specially made ATA case. Their violin bows were another story altogether and the case and bows were probably more valuable than most houses.


Personally, I have gotten back to case making. I have been thinking to address the matter of a specialty case for flights. And I mean for individual cues, like a 1x2 or something like that, not the big dealer/collector ATA cases. It could potentially also be for shipping valuable cues. I have my ideas, we will see if I do anything with them.
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Yo Yo Ma is required by his insurance company to fly his Stradivarius Cello in its own first class seat.

Lately on domestic flights I've been using a JB cases travel bag to put my cue case in along with a hoodie or two and that's what I check while I board with a backpack and a carry-on suitcase.

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Easier than taking the Nanuk, and slightly less hassle.
 
My snooker cues are in an aluminum long case, which I wrapped and placed into a ski bag. Pool cue goes in a lockable padded bag I got for about $50 on Taobao, Just fits my standard case inside the bag as is.

Probably AirTag it in future.
 
Benelli said:
Yo Yo Ma is required by his insurance company to fly his Stradivarius Cello in its own first class seat.

Lately on domestic flights I've been using a JB cases travel bag to put my cue case in along with a hoodie or two and that's what I check while I board with a backpack and a carry-on suitcase.

View attachment 855654

Easier than taking the Nanuk, and slightly less hassle.
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Good example.

Required for coverage. But if the seat gets "bumped" he has a problem. That's another reason for them to require first class. Another problem arises when there is no first class on local or regional flights to or from his first class flight. So, it can be more complicated. But being a very high profile passenger, he and his instrument will likely enjoy regard and accommodation the rest of us will not have.
 
If you have a soft golf case, Club Glove makes a thing called a "stiff arm." It's a telescoping pole that protects clubs from being smacked lengthwise. I've traveled with a cue in a basic case, bungee corded to the stiff arm in my golf bag before, likewise with fishing rods. It's not 100% but with a basic cue case makes me happy enough. If you fly any leg of your journey first class, they'll mark your luggage as priority and take it easy on it. I do that on golf trips for extra insurance (e g. First class DC to ATL, and coach overseas).
 
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Chopdoc said:
Excellent! I have not traveled by air with cues in more than 20 years. Didn't even think of Air Tags.
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I have an air tag in every jump cue pocket on every case I have. I don't have any jump cues so it really works out!

I had to use the Apple finder app once at LAX to find my hardshell. It had been held back because some dumbass assumed it was firearms despite the fact there was no declaration or anything saying there was.
 
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