Flying with guitars

[pabloman]

Depends on what fret the contact occurs and what wood the neck is made from. :icon_biggrin:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

get a flight case

I know they are expensive but it is worth it, especially for a guitar you can never replace

and do not fly UNITED

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo[/youtube]

I was just going to comment on this.

I would NEVER trust one of these "baggage monkeys," as one person called them, with any of my guitars.  No way, no how. 

My wife and I are flying to Seattle for a week on Monday afternoon, and I'm going to be dying without a guitar at my disposal.  I thought about bringing one of mine, but the more I thought about it, the worse of an idea I think it would be.

 

[Graffiti62]

I still think you may be better off mailing it than flying it through the airway. I was watching Leno tonight, and he stated that last year, the airline industry has lost about 29 million bags. I'm always torn on traveling--I've been in many planes in my life, but I hate flying commercial with a passion. My wife and I are slowly planning a honeymoon to San Francisco, and I am working on her to take AmTrak out there rather than flying.

 

[ORCRiST]

Here ya go Hannaugh... dont have one myself, but Ive heard a lot of good things:

http://www.rondomusic.com/product2373.html

And they're only $80.00.  :icon_thumright:

ORC

 

[hannaugh]

That flight case looks good.  Unfortunately now I don't have time to order it.  Oh well. 

I'm going to take my LP.  I called American Airlines, and they told me what to do.  After reading some accounts online about them being pretty good with musicians and making an effort to be nice to guitars, I'm more comfortable with it.  I believe if I get to the gate early and am very clear about my guitar being fragile and important to me, I will be able to get it into the cabin, or at least have them gate-check it so it won't have to go through the baggage carousel of death.  I will also make sure I loosen the strings and shove some bubble wrap in there and lock the case.  I have a TKL for my LP, it is pretty decent. 

 

[Wyliee]

I have not had to fly in recent time, but in the past I've used an old Levy's double gigbag and stuck it inside a hardshell golf club case.  Specifically, this one: http://www.skbcases.com/sports/product/golf/hard.html

There's enough room inside that I added 4" of foam to support the gig bag.  When I get to my hotel, I leave the hard case in the room and carry the gigbag.

One nice thing I noticed after flying a few times is golf club cases are generally the last items put on the plane and the first items that come off.  Also, depending on the airport, the case comes out through the oversized baggage area which is often outside general baggage claim.  Less hassle with people.... And I've never been charged any oversize or overweight fees.

I used to travel with the gigbag alone and hope to put it in the First Class coat closet.  Unfortunately, most airlines have remove that now.  Also, it is ultimately up to the flight crew of the airplane if they want to allow your instrument in the cabin.  They have the final say and you could end up gate checking it.  Checking my bass has been the most convenient method of flying with it in the long run.

 

[stubhead]

Boy, if they X-ray your golf bag and find a guitar instead, that's gotta count as some kind of terrorism though. Oughta be worth at least a cavity search or something. ccasion14:

 

[DangerousR6]

get a flight case

I know they are expensive but it is worth it, especially for a guitar you can never replace

and do not fly UNITED

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo[/youtube]

I'm not much into country, but I just love this every time I hear it. Most likely cause they made UA shyt in their pants..... :laughing11:

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

get a flight case

I know they are expensive but it is worth it, especially for a guitar you can never replace

and do not fly UNITED

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo[/youtube]

I'm not much into country, but I just love this every time I hear it. Most likely cause they made UA shyt in their pants..... :laughing11:

Yeah, if I recall correctly, at one point, UA contacted him and threatened legal action if he didn't remove the video from YouTube, or something.  To say the least, he didn't remove it. 

Apparently, this lead to a conversation with the president of UA, or somebody, and after this whole deal was settled, UA wanted to buy the rights to the video, more than likely, in hopes they could wipe out all of the links all over the net, and brush this under the carpet.

 

[richship]

Southwest smashed this one of a kind acoustic and refused to pay anything. It belongs to a folk musician, Gerry O'Beirne, that my cousin plays fiddle with. He calls it the Elephant. Fans had to donate money to get it fixed.

 

[Jusatele]

get a flight case

I know they are expensive but it is worth it, especially for a guitar you can never replace

and do not fly UNITED

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo[/youtube]

I'm not much into country, but I just love this every time I hear it. Most likely cause they made UA shyt in their pants..... :laughing11:

Yeah, if I recall correctly, at one point, UA contacted him and threatened legal action if he didn't remove the video from YouTube, or something.  To say the least, he didn't remove it. 

Apparently, this lead to a conversation with the president of UA, or somebody, and after this whole deal was settled, UA wanted to buy the rights to the video, more than likely, in hopes they could wipe out all of the links all over the net, and brush this under the carpet.

funniest thing about the entire affair is now his is known as a consumer advocate more than a musician, he even has a consumer advocate website now. Funny how things turn out and how they effect your career .

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Southwest smashed this one of a kind acoustic and refused to pay anything. It belongs to a folk musician, Gerry O'Beirne, that my cousin plays fiddle with. He calls it the Elephant. Fans had to donate money to get it fixed.

I'm going to be sitting on a Southwest plane in about 5 hours.  Not only does it look like they destroy guitars, but I hear they don't charge extra to ride in convertible jets, either.  :tard:

 

[richship]

If I traveled enough to justify it, I'd get a Traveler guitar. They have a bunch of models, but I like this one with the built in headphone amp:

 

[mayfly]

Hi Folks,

Just arrived in Vegas.  The guitar and case made it just fine:

 

[bagman67]

Hi Folks,

Just arrived in Vegas.  The guitar and case made it just fine:

Let us know whether you manage to score an open mike slot!

bagman

 

[mayfly]

Just played Vegas, Baby.

Did five songs at the open mic at the Cellar Lounge.  Was fun - guitar sounded great - bartender gave me a free beer!

 

[hannaugh]

UPDATE:  I managed to get my LP in the cabin on every flight (yes, apparently flying across the country now requires 4 flights  :tard.  The one time it didn't fit in the coat closet, I managed to cram it into the overhead bin.  American Airlines was very understanding and accommodating, and I will most likely fly with them again if I ever need to take an instrument somewhere again. 

 

[stubhead]

Makes you wonder if airlines now watch YouTube.... :blob7:

 

[bagman67]

Just played Vegas, Baby.

Did five songs at the open mic at the Cellar Lounge.  Was fun - guitar sounded great - bartender gave me a free beer!

Bravo, Trevor.  What songs did you do?  Originals, or covers?

Bagman

 

[DangerousR6]

UPDATE:  I managed to get my LP in the cabin on every flight (yes, apparently flying across the country now requires 4 flights  :tard.  The one time it didn't fit in the coat closet, I managed to cram it into the overhead bin.  American Airlines was very understanding and accommodating, and I will most likely fly with them again if I ever need to take an instrument somewhere again. 

I flew AA several times with a beloved geetar in hand as carry on, never had a problem. Bought a seat for it one flight, put in overhead cargo another....But that was all before 911..