Travel Information (flights, baggage, visas, instruments, clothing)
What flights are the students travelling on?
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Students will be travelling with Cathay Pacific.
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Students will be departing Perth in 2 groups - Thursday 25 June 2026 and Friday 26 June 2026 (both at 00:10).
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Students will be departing Japan in 2 groups - Friday 10 July and Saturday 11 July (both arriving in Perth 22:40).
What is the baggage weight maximum for check in and carry on?
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Baggage check in maximum weight is 15 kg. This is to offset the weight of larger instruments that will also be checked in as well as other items that need to be brought by the music tour staff while on tour (e.g. music stands, sheet music etc).
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Carry on maximum weight 7kg.
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Please note that excess baggage rate at the airport is USD$40 per kilogram.
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Any fragile items checked in will require a fragile item waiver form to be completed during the check in process. The form outlines the potential risk and that Cathay Pacific will not be responsible for the damages. It is recommended that instruments are fully insured.
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It is at the discretion of the airport check in staff based on the dimensions of the instrument to allow this on board. Please be prepared to check in your violin if advised by the airport ground crew.
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In the event that items are lost or have not arrived to destinations on time, Cathay Pacific will offer standard compensation that follows the company's lost/damage item policy.
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Baggage guidelines available from Cathay Pacific: https://flights.cathaypacific.com/en_AU/baggage/baggage-calculator.html
Do I need a visa?
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Here is a list of countries that are exempted from requiring a tourist visa: https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/short/novisa.html
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You can check on this website if you need to apply for a visa for your child.
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If the student’s passport is Australian, your child falls in the exempted countries category.
I have a concern over the safety of the instrument my child is going to bring for the trip. How is it going to be taken onto the plane? How in the past were such big musical instruments taken care of during the music trip?
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The school has travelled for many tours with very valuable instruments and (fortunately!) have had very few damaged in that time. There is always a small risk when travelling by plane as we have to trust the airlines to look after the instruments.
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We will teach the students how they are to pack their instruments for the safest passage. It involves a lot of bubble wrap!
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Larger instruments will have to go in the hold (unless the parent would like to purchase another airline seat for the instrument) due to size.
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As soon as we arrive in any airport, we ask the students to open their instrument cases and check their instruments while we are still in the arrivals hall (makes for quite the cacophony and is very entertaining for other passengers!) to ensure there is no damage. If any is noted, we can claim from the airline immediately. As soon as we leave the arrivals hall, the airline will not accept liability.
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While we are travelling, instruments will be packed and unpacked by us (students, chaperones and teachers) and the bus/truck drivers, who are very experienced at this.
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Obviously we would encourage the parents to have comprehensive insurance for their own instruments as well as accidents can happen.
Can I travel in trackies?
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Trackies or comfortable pants can be worn for the flight (no lycra tights please).
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As per the Music Tour handbook, the travel uniform includes Tour Polo Shirt or CSHS White Polo Shirt, CSHS Tour jacket, CSHS pants or CSHS shorts, White socks and Joggers.