Traveling with your guitar

[Another Bill C.]

I haven't taken my guitar on a plane trip for almost a year. It's a Martin D12-28 with the '70s style fiberglass case.

In the past, I just ignored any hard stares and carried it on board with me. On my last commuter-jet flight, it wouldn't fit in the overhead so the attendant put it in the crew closet for me.

I've heard that the airlines are getting more sensitive to luggage issues lately.

I checked into shipping it to my destination by FedEx. The customer service lady wasn't sure if the case was an acceptable shipping container. She asked me if I could drop it from the roof of my house without hurting it. Well, I live in a 2-1/2 story house so that question made me a little uncomfortable. On the other hand, FedEx will ship and insure it for $30 while the airline will charge $25 for a second bag and without insurance.

Does anyone have any recent experience on this?

Thanks.

[MilesColtrane]

1. I haven't been flying with my instruments in years, but...

...my advice would be to prepare to have the airline refuse to allow you to carry it on.

I'm pretty sure an acoustic guitar case exceeds the allowable dimensions of most major carriers these days.
Check your airlines web site for details.

If you are forced to check it under the plane, you are taking your chances if it's not in a flight case. (Sometimes you are taking your chances even if it is IN a flight case.)

I had an anvil case (industry standard) come back off of a plane with a fist-sized hole punched into one side of it once.

[TomInTib]

2. No more crew closet.

I highly recommend Calton cases.

Accept no substitute.

http://www.caltoncases.ab.ca/frame_home.htm

[DFW]

3. I just discovered them, and have ordered my first one.

Most of my guitars were made for me by Božo Podunavac, and they deserve the best protection.
I had one case made for me by Mark Leaf in 1979, but don't know what became of him. Božo is
80 years old this year, and while he did an excellent job of making and attaching a new neck
onto a vintage 1994 bell body 12 string of his (airlines killed it), he won't be around to
do that forever. As it is, his doctor told him absolutely NO MORE lacquering, and he had to
have that done by a colleague. If you are not familiar with Božo's work, here are the last
two he made for me in 2000 (matching pair):

You can see why I need the protection!

[ProfessorGAC]

6. My Friend Has One Of His Guitars

They are great pieces of work. Easy to play, wonderful tone and pretty to look at. How can you go wrong?

Good luck on transporting it.
GAC

[here_is_to_hope]

4. LOOSEN THE STRINGS!!!

Biggest mistake when traveling or shipping a guitar, leaving the strings at tension!
I repair stringed instruments and I wont even drive from my house to the store with a stringed instrument at tension.

[trusty elf]

5. You might enjoy this photo.

On a recent flight from Oslo to Paris my theorbo (a long-necked lute) wouldn't fit in its seat. Fortunately, there was a gurney at the back of the plane!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

8. Is it true that lute players spend half their time tuning the thing?

And that they memorize lewd phrases to remember tuning?

That's what I heard in orchestra.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

7. If you have to buy it a seat, demand lunch.

I knew a cellist who said he had to buy his cello a seat, and asked the stewardess to please serve his cello lunch. :D

This was back in the days when airlines served food.

The airlines don't understand that something can be big, like a stringed instrument, even as large as a string bass, and be FRAGILE.

Me, I got four fiddles. Don't carry them on planes anymore, after I read a horror story about a kid whose viola was destroyed on a plane.