HELP! Flying my Guitar.

[nobozos]

Does anyone have any experience they can share with me about taking your guitar with you on a commercial airline?

Do you have to check it, or will they let you carry it on and stow it up front.

Don't worry, I'm not taking my EBMM, I'm taking a Mexican Squier strat that cost me 75 bucks. The thing is that it plays great, and I'm not crazy about the idea of having it in a cargo hold that is not temperature controlled. Hard telling what kind of shape it would be in when I get to where I'm going.

 

[francric]

If you ask nicely or beg they might let you stow it where the flight crew keep their stuff up front. Also if the storage bins are long enough, the case will fit. You do take a risk though if they say no or it doesn't fit above, then it off to the luggage area. You might want to try saying it's a priceless item and needs to kept in a safe place.

 

[tommyindelaware]

i've had the best luck w/ a gigbag and carrying it on w/ nothing else....no other carry on.....so that i don't hog up carry on luggage space...that would piss them off. make it as easy as you can for them to let it fly as carry on.
a hard case for that guitar will definitely be too long to be a carry on.
that said...... there are simply no guarantee's anymore ( other than buying your guitar a ticket ) w/ security & all these days...they are getting tougher....

 

[koogie2k]

oh man....not the airlines! Mine went with gig bag in the luggage area out to Cali and the neck was snapped upon arrival! No worries, OLP, but, I was not too thrilled. Got insured and all. So, I bought another axe out there to practice on and sent it back with my company storage box.....it arrived safe and sound.

I would check via phone first to see what they can do for you. Sometimes, you can walk right onboard with it. Other times, off to the "throwers" and we know how much they care about your stuff....

 

[nobozos]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. That's kind of what I thought. I didn't know what the best strategy would be for that. I was thinking that if I just walked up to the counter with the guitar in no case or gig bag at all, that I might stand a better chance of getting it into the cabin, but then if they said no, I would be really screwed if I had to check it.

I'm pretty well prepared though. I'm taking it in a brand new Fender SKB style case with a lock on it. I know the locks are cheese, and not theft proof, but it will keep at least one of the latches closed if the other 3 pop open in the luggage area. So, if they check it, it will probably be okay. I was kind of wondering if anyone had any stories about their guitar being damaged by the cold of the luggage area, and not mishandling by the ground crew.

BTW, is the insurance on the guitar something that you get from the airline? Is there a form you can fill out that states the approx. value of the item before you check it?

Thanks guys.

 

[nobozos]

Okay, I thought I would give you guys an update about how everything turned out with the airlines.

I flew out of Peoria to Chicago, from Chicago to Dallas, and from Dallas to Wichita Falls Texas.
When I arrived at Peoria, they did not make me check the guitar case at the ticketing counter, and told me that on the smaller planes I would have to "gate check" it, which basically means that they take it from you at the entrance to the airplane and stow it in a baggage compartment.

On the bigger planes, I was allowed to carry it onto the plane and stow it in the overhead compartment.

All in all, a pretty good experience.

American Airlines btw.

 

[sundar]

Note: For this to work, you need to carry the guitar in a gig bag.

I have flown in with my guitar (mostly outside US). Initially I did hand over my guitar to the crew for stowing it the crew member area. But stopped doing that, when during one of the flights, the crew member asked me if it was a "Tennis Racket".

Nowdays what I usually do is go well ahead of time to the airport. Request a Window Seat, and I can comfortably fit the gig bag in the gap between the seat and the wall space (under the window). And ofcourse politely decline when a crew member offers to stow it in the front.

Ofcourse if the gap between the seat and the wall if not big enough, then stowing away in the crew area is the best option.

 

[jimmyp]

I work overseas most of the year so have this all the time. I have tried it every way and it is not consistent - sometimes, they will let you on with a hard case, a gig bag or whatever. Sometimes, no matter how you beg, they make you check it in at the desk (I know on internal UK flights they make you check everything as the check in staff get commission on overweight baggage). Finally, I have just started checking in every time without asking - I bought a Hiscox lightflite case which has survived numerous flights now with just a few scratches and dings to show for it. My strat (I don't bring a MM guitar anywhere near an airport) is still in perfect shape and has rarely even needed to be tuned afterwards. Yes I would be more than annoyed if anything ever happened to my guitar, but that is why I don't travel with anything irreplaceable and make sure my travel insurance is up to the job.

 

[Rush]

I use a hard/soft case and they always let me put it in the first class closet. Granted I've only done it a few times, but I've never had a problem doing it
that way.