Traveling with my ray

[Mobay45]

Guys, callling the airport or airlines won't do you any good. As Pocketgroove82's story should tell you, they do what they please and those things are at the whim of whichever airline employee you happen to be dealing with. If you tell them that you called ahead, they will probably tell you that the person you talked to was a new employee and got it wrong.

Just buy a decent flight case and check it. That way you don't have to sweat whether or not you can get on the plane with the bass. Once you're standing at the gate with it in your hand and you don't have a flight case, you're screwed if they won't let you take it on the plane with you.

 

[high mileage]

I wouldn't worry about calling either. Obviously there's a very good chance that even if you're told it's OK you won't be able to bring it as a carry-on. So now you're at the airport with your bass in a standard case or gigbag and you're up the proverbial creek. This might happen on one of the flights, both or neither but it's out of your control.

I'd get a flight case. If I have to fly with a bass, I'll probably get an ATA approved keyboard case that will fit my bass inside a gig bag. That way I can carry around the gig bag when I get there instead of the very heavy flight case. ATA = airline transport approved or something like that, same thing as a flight case.

 

[silverburst]

I didn't notice before that you have a 30th. If it is the original 30th anniversary hard case, for sure I wouldn't check that through.

 

[Eggman]

How much playing are you going to do in LA? Maybe you can borrow a bass or rent one. Maybe BP will meet you at the airport with something.

Otherwise I would suggest as big and sturdy a case as possible - like an Anvil case.

I was lucky - I travelled to the Montreux Jazz Festival years ago and was allowed to take my '63 Jazz bass as a carry on - just in the old Tolex case (Swiss Air). This bass now resides in a huge Anvil case.

 

[brooklynfall]

I've flown back and forth from NY to LA many times, and each time I was allowed to carry on my SR5 in its gig bag. It fits in the overhead compartment, believe it or not!

Also, on one memorable trip to Singapore to play a festival, I flew New York - London - Singapore without checking my bass, and never got questioned about it. The worst I think that's ever happened to me is that the flight attendant asked if I would mind putting it in the closet near the plane's hatch. Oh, and once on a smaller, chartered flight I got to the stairs leading up to the plane's entrance, and a flight attendant took my bass, gave it a paper hang tag, and I watched him put it in the cargo hold personally.

Differing experiences, but now I will never check my bass, since I know if I am persistent I will be able to carry it on with me.

 

[Aussie Mark]

Two more comments -

1. Leave the strings at normal tension. The truss rod prefers it that way (under tension)

2. If you can't afford a heavy duty ATA style flight case, buy an SKB Bass Safe. I have one of those as well, and have flown basses with it several times. The bass safe is big enough to take your bass inside a padded gig bag, plus you can stuff any free space with socks, jocks and tee shirts. It's light, has skateboard wheels and handles for easy moving, and offers good protection. Even though it's moulded, it's more flexible than Gator/SKB ABS style hard cases, so won't ding and warp as easily as those will.

 

[silverburst]

Or you can call me when you get into town. Maybe I can loan you something to get you by...

Rex

 

[ashiin]

how much is an ATA approved keyboard case?

 

[Bill]

I bought a Gator G-Tour flight case for my bass when I went to New York earlier this year. My Stingray fit in it pretty well, but I did add some foam to try to keep the bass from moving around inside the case. I felt very comfortable using this case, and my bass made it to New York & back to Louisiana with no problems at all. My advice: try to pack a gig bag 'cause this case is HEAVY with the bass in it! I didn't have room for a gig bag, and I regretted it as I lugged this case around for a week.

 

[high mileage]

how much is an ATA approved keyboard case?

About the same as a regular (as in Anvil) bass flight case. The SKB bass safe option looks good but I've heard that people have had problems with airport security taking them apart to inspect what's inside and then not knowing how to put them back together properly. That could happen even with the two standard butterfly latches on a regular case, but less likely. OTOH, a lot of people have used the SKB with no problems.

Check ebay for deals on used Anvil cases - very cheap in comparison to new ones, but it might take some time to find exactly what you're looking for.

 

[Narcosynthesis]

Often if you can't take it onto the plane itself with you, they will let you check it as you board and have it put into the hold as a special item - basically what they often do with buggies and so on so people can carry their kids through the airport with them, but not having them cluttering up the plane

David

 

[strummer]

Do not detune or remove the strings!

If you absolutely have to fly with the original ebmm case, get a cardboard case box and check tha whole thing. Add padding between cardboard and case wherever you can, and the stuff mark said inside the case. I have flown some with original cases, and they do not last many flights...

 

[Psycho Ward]

The case did its job, the bass was fine.. but...

 

[brooklynfall]

The case did its job, the bass was fine.. but...

Whoa.

I think I'm going to go ahead and "+1" myself here ...

What could have even done that? The plane's landing gear?

 

[nashman]

Can you rent one there and save the hassle/risk?

 

[Psycho Ward]

Well there was the Brown truck involved too, but it was a next day shipment and that case was in a double box as well!

 

[IkaruShizzlemah]

Well there was the Brown truck involved too, but it was a next day shipment and that case was in a double box as well!

"What can Brown do for you?"

Ikaru

 

[SteveB]

The case did its job, the bass was fine.. but...

Chuck..

Glad the bass survived... is that a cadaver beihnd the case?

 

[Marco Capozi]

Ashiin,

I strongly recommend you carry your bass on the plane with you; since you can't even imagine the way luggage are handled in airports.
Usually nobody complains about bringing a bass on the plane.
It depends upon the plane you're flying with, but usually there's enough room to store the bass as hand luggage, in the negative you can ask the personnel to use one of their wardrobe.
Of course this way you can bring the bass in a gig bag.
I've travelled with my basses dozens times(I carry a SR4 and a SR5 in a double gigbag) and I've never had problems. Bringing CDs of your band helps, because police gets suspicious with keyboards and effect pedalboards, but if you show them who you are and why are you bringing along such material with you they're usually kind enough to let your gear pass.

Sorry for my bad English, but I hope it helps,
Marco

 

[ekb16b]

aishiin, give us a heads up if cathay pacific people allow you to bring ur ray on board..
cos imma heading back to hong kong from australia to grab my 30th sr4. and previous posts including how those baggage handler b*stards throw ur bass into the cargo area is quite scary (i know its true, just dont want to think aobut it) and as you can udnerstand im quite paranoid about such a beautiful work of art getting destroyed