Airlines and Carry On Your Guitar: What's The Latest?

[Joe Montgomery]

I'm flying to LAX Sunday, United. Anyone have current experiences to
share on carrying on a guitar, especially with United Airlines?

I was thinking of shouldering a nice classical in a soft gig bag, as
opposed to trying to walk on with an archtop in a Calton case. The good
news, if I have to gate check the archtop, no problem, but the bad
news, gate checking a classical in a soft bag is a death sentence, no?

And what about getting thru TSA?

Thanks

JM

[ES175_Player]

Hi Joe...
I travel quite a bit but not for performances, but for work. I always
want a guitar to play when I'm whiling away the hours in the hotel
room, so I bought an Epi Joe Pass, just to travel with. I carry it on
almost every trip..

Here's what I've seen...
I don' carry it on.. I check it in a hardshell case. Leave the case
unlocked. TSA will break the lock if they decide to search it. If they
do search it they will leave a piece of paper inside your case,
informing you that they did search it. My little Epi gets searched
almost every trip, so TSA is on the job.

Never had a problem, except one..
The P/U selector switch.....
Don't know why, but almost every time when I arrive at my destination,
the ring nut holding the switch is laying in the case, and the switch
is laying inside the guitar. (When I get back home, I have to use a
coat hanger to reassemble it)..

Of course the Epi is pretty tough laminate construction. I really don't
know about a solid spruce top..

Hope this helps..

[Nate Najar]

TSA should be no problem. Make sure there's no finger ease or other
sprays or lubes or things like that because of the new regs. United
IME has always been real good about carryon guitars. A classical in a
gigbag takes up very little overhead space. Just don't fly delta.

Nate

[invisaman75]

Smaller airlines (America West) no hassle with guitar in a hard shell
case but I was told United (and other larger airlines) will not allow
it. I used a "Clam" and checked with my luggage without a problem.

[tomb...@jhu.edu]

My favorite no-hassle no-worry solution is : Take a tele, unbolt the
neck, put it in your suitcase, and check it. Don't forget to take a
screwdriver and an allen wrench so you can put it back together.

[decapr...@hotmail.com]

How is the Clam case? Is it reliable, for example for several trips?

-TD

[invisaman75]

I have taken a few short trips with but my buddy of mine has taken his
across and out of the country. He has not had any problems. he told if
he used his Anvil case the airlines would charge him additional 50 (up
to 100, depending on the airline) dollars because of the weight.

[Kevin Van Sant]

On 16 Oct 2006 15:32:33 -0700, decapr...@hotmail.com wrote in
message <1161037953.2...@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> :

>How is the Clam case? Is it reliable, for example for several trips?
>
>-TD

I heartily recommend it. It's bulky but lightweight... definitely
get the wheels!

_________________________________________
Kevin Van Sant

http://www.kevinvansant.com
CDs, videos, mp3s, gigs, pics, lessons, info.

[Derek]

So are the days of being able to take a full sized guitar on board over?

[decapr...@hotmail.com]

There are already plenty of the elements of anxiety present with
travel. And allowing the axe aboard is becoming more and more a crap
shoot due to the situation in this new world. Being comfortable in
knowing it can be safely checked eliminates the anxiety that is
otherwise compounded.

-TD

[Unknown]

On 16 Oct 2006 15:32:33 -0700, decapr...@hotmail.com wrote:

>How is the Clam case? Is it reliable, for example for several trips?
>
>-TD
>

Tony:

Here is a post I wrote about the Clam cases about a month ago:

I have been using Case Extreme cases for travelling for a while now
and have about 15 flights with them. They have so far protected my
guitars flawlessly. They are a pain to carry around (DEFINITELY get
the optional wheels), but they do protect the instrument, especially
if your existing case (the case you are putting inside the Case
Extreme case) is solid.

So, that's the old information. Here's the new information.

I flew Southwest Airlines on Saturday and Wednesday of last week, to
and from Reno. No problem going. On the return flight, I hit one of
those gate agents who was in love with her power. She created a big
stink about the Case Extreme case, saying it was not solid, and
insisted that I sign a waiver saying that Southwest was not
responsible for damage to my guitar.

I opened the case up, showing her how solid it was and how solid my
case inside was. "What is the inside case made from?" she asked. I
said it was made from wood. "Instruments must be transported in a
hard plastic case or Southwest is not responsible for them." I argued
with her that this combination - a hard wood case, inside a plastic
water proof case cover, inside solid foam pack in the Case Extreme
case was very secure. In her most professional bitch voice she said,
"Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?" And she handed me a
pen and told me to sign the waiver or I couldn't fly.

With a long line behind me, and all the security going on, I did not
feel like hassling with the lady or demanding to see her supervisor,
so I signed the form. The guitar made it through just fine, though
they did lose my suitcase.

Last Christmas, I lost a guitar for 2 weeks in the airline system.
They just lost it, and then it just magically reappeared. Probably
some baggage handler or security guy had a gig and needed a nice
archtop for the gig, so he just borrowed mine for a while. It
travelled the system for 2 weeks in a Case Extreme case and did just
fine.

So, the Case Extreme cases are good, but you should be prepared to be
forced to sign the waiver form. Either that or just say that the
interior case is made from hard plastic. Or you could roll the dice
and try to carry it on. Some airlines will tolerate it. Others
won't. The musicians union just published an article about Delta,
saying they are the worst of the airlines about not letting
instruments be carried on.

Flying with a guitar sucks, but it still beats walking.

Tim

Tim Berens
timb at erinet.com

http://timberens.com
A Website for Guitarists

Check out my CD with Dan Faehnle at:
http://cdbaby.com/timberens3

[Bart]

Unbolting the neck on a tele and putting the whole thing in a suitcase
is an interesting suggestion. I have a Tacoma archtop in my collection,
and it has a bolt on neck as well. I would be curious if anyone has
taken the neck off one of these Tacoma archtops for travel purposes(and
screwed it back on successfully!). Thanks in advance.

Bart

www.bartstringham.com

[decapr...@hotmail.com]

Thank you Tim. All waivers imposed by airlines are illegal. They will,
however, play on our ignorance, so we usually sign to placate this
irregular behavior. I signed for my Anvil case ( they charged me for
the extra size to boot!), they broke it; they paid the damage afterward
after I challenged them over it.
-TD

[Unknown]

On 17 Oct 2006 13:48:15 -0700, decapr...@hotmail.com wrote:

>Thank you Tim. All waivers imposed by airlines are illegal. They will,
>however, play on our ignorance, so we usually sign to placate this
>irregular behavior. I signed for my Anvil case ( they charged me for
>the extra size to boot!), they broke it; they paid the damage afterward
>after I challenged them over it.
>-TD
>

Thanks! That's a nice piece of information to know. If the waiver
thing ever bites me, that will come in handy.

[Shawn Strickland]

How about Steinbergers?

I see a lot of guys travelling with those or Kleins.

[Dave Illig]

I just had Lyle Lovett and some of his band members on my flight from
Houston to LA last week. I am a 737 pilot for Continental Airlines. I
let them all carry their guitars in the cabin. They were booked in
first class. Nice guys.

Dave

[Joe Montgomery]

Dave Illig wrote:
> I just had Lyle Lovett and some of his band members on my flight from
> Houston to LA last week. I am a 737 pilot for Continental Airlines. I
> let them all carry their guitars in the cabin. They were booked in
> first class. Nice guys.

1st class passengers, famous musicians get to carry on their
instruments at pilot's discretion.
I'm a regular guy just trying to save time and keep my guitar close.

Do I even stand a chance?

Rhetorically yours, JM

[Dave Illig]

On one of my flights you would. I would put it in the cockpit with me
if necessary. If you look at the carry on restrictions for length and
width you are subjected to the whims of the gate agents. Most guitars
exceed the limitations. I would be prepared to have to gate check your
guitar. A soft shell case is a recipe for disaster. You can't believe
how rough baggage gets treated.

Dave

[decapr...@hotmail.com]

Thank you Dave for being you, for one thing, and for sharing the
Pilot's perspective for another thing. I have had a few Pilots in my
path act with compassion as you have ( but oddly this was mostly when I
flew first class; perhaps I was closer to the cockpit?), yet this is
few and far between. It is a great dilemma, because what are we
supposed to do, stay home and play only local gigs? This only further
supports the fact that trying to carry our axes on board is a crapshoot
at best nowadays. We need a champion case and a non-roughian loader.

-TD

[Dave Illig]

Thanks Tony. As you said it is a crap shoot. The airlines have been
continually moving away from being a customer service industry.
Unfortunately I don't think it is going to get any better. The trend
seems to be toward a low cost, no frills "WalMart" philosophy. Short
of being prepaired to have to check the guitar I don't have an answer.
I am going to send you an email I wrote when Henry Johnson brought up
an issue where they wanted to charge him to carry on his guitar.

Dave

[decapr...@hotmail.com]

Oh, that reminds of of many years ago when I actually had no choice but
to purchase tickets for my guitar. The guitar would be strapped into
the adjacent seat and I insisted that a meal be served for my guitar (
which they served and I ate the desert). One time the a Pilot refused
to accept the guitar even though I Bought a seat for it!! I was really
pissed, man. Another time, a disgruntled stewardess told me to take the
guitar off the seat and that she will have it checked into cargo. I
said, "I beg your pardon?...I have a ticket for it." She said "No you
don't!!" and so she began a tug of war with me over my guitar! Imagine
that? I had to shove the ticket in her face. Wild stuff. It's all
whacked.

-TD

[Kevin Van Sant]

On 18 Oct 2006 09:57:45 -0700, decapr...@hotmail.com wrote in
message <1161190665....@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com> :

> Another time, a disgruntled stewardess told me to take the
>guitar off the seat and that she will have it checked into cargo. I
>said, "I beg your pardon?...I have a ticket for it." She said "No you
>don't!!" and so she began a tug of war with me over my guitar! Imagine
>that? I had to shove the ticket in her face. Wild stuff. It's all

well you know, they do get ruffled when you call them stewardesses
these days :)

[tomb...@jhu.edu]

decapr...@hotmail.com wrote:
> Oh, that reminds of of many years ago when I actually had no choice but
> to purchase tickets for my guitar. The guitar would be strapped into
> the adjacent seat and I insisted that a meal be served for my guitar (
> which they served and I ate the desert). One time the a Pilot refused
> to accept the guitar even though I Bought a seat for it!! I was really
> pissed, man. Another time, a disgruntled stewardess told me to take the
> guitar off the seat and that she will have it checked into cargo. I
> said, "I beg your pardon?...I have a ticket for it." She said "No you
> don't!!" and so she began a tug of war with me over my guitar! Imagine
> that? I had to shove the ticket in her face. Wild stuff. It's all
> whacked.

I'm starting to get why that guy shat on the meal cart that one time.

[Derek]

Reminds me of that scene in the plane with Ben Stiller in "Meet the
Parents". You will have to pry my dead fingers off of the bag, or
something to that effect.

[decapr...@hotmail.com]

At least the Pilots get to keep their eyes fixed on the wings when they
feel weird up there. The steward people stay tilted most of the time,
"just ask the Axis."

[Dave Illig]

Damn,,,, tough crowd. Don't let any flight attendants read this, they
will make your life miserable next time you fly. The pilots just close
their eyes and try not to look out the window.

Dave

[Willie K. Yee, MD]

On 16 Oct 2006 10:53:44 -0700, "Nate Najar" <na...@natenajar.com>
wrote:

>TSA should be no problem. Make sure there's no finger ease or other
>sprays or lubes or things like that because of the new regs. United
>IME has always been real good about carryon guitars. A classical in a
>gigbag takes up very little overhead space. Just don't fly delta.
>
>Nate

Also do not include any extra items in the case. The inspectors may
leave them out loose where they will bang around and smash up the
finish. Happened to a friend's trumpet.