My SO is flying for an audition and he needs to bring his guitar. Is he allowed to bring it on the plane and hold it in his seat or is that not allowed? If it’s not allowed does anyone know anything about how you go about insuring your luggage? Do you do that when you check-in or before?
Unless he pays for a seat for it and straps it into that seat, it needs to go under his seat or in the overhead. I’d vote for the overhead, myself.
Guitars do not meet the size requirements for carry-on luggage. It should be packed in a travel case and checked.
You may already be insured. Check your homeowner’s or renter’s policy, speak to your credit card company, and speak to your airline representative. Make sure you are covered for ALL losses related to lost or delayed luggage. Get everything in writing. You definitely need to do this before you fly.
Some planes have a sort of a closet where people can hang stuff. He might be able to put the guitar there. He definitely doesn’t want to wait until he’s boarding the plane to find out, though. If this is going to be a regular occurence or he’s going to be on the road a lot, he ought to just spring for a flight case. Once he’s at his destination he can switch to a gig bag. You don’t want to mess with a flight case more than you have to.
Depends… does he play “Wayward Son”?
Because of all the security changes and the fact this may well change from carrier to carrier, you might want to call the airline to see what their current policy is. I can see someone somewhere concerned that the metal strings could be used as a garrotte (weapon).
I don’t know officially, but I saw someone turned away at the departures security check with their guitar in a case (I cannot remember what airport). So it may not even depend on your airline carrier.
Here’s a suggestion: the day before your SO travels, take the guitar to a pack and ship place, and FedEx (or otherwise overnight) the guitar to where he will be staying. These guys do a better job of packing, and the insurance is better than what you get through homeowner’s or the airlines.
Be sure to loosen the strings before packing it up.
Unless you have a backpacker guitar (the ones that are basically just a neck) you have to check the guitar. You may be able to slip buy but most of the time it will neither fit in the overhead compartments (the guitars are too wide and don’t leave enough space for other passengers) or underneath the seats. You can however pay for another ticket to strap the guitar into the seat. You may get lucky and not be on a full plane but I haven’t had that type of luck in years.
I like the fedex idea best.
but whether you fedex it or take it yourself REMEMBER to loosen the guitar’s strings completely slack before you ship it. The changes in air pressure may snap your guitar in two otherwise :smack: (I’ve been warned of this as a possibility on both electric and acoustic) - either that or your strings will break and may damage the guitar another way.
This has been discussed extensively on The Mudcat Cafe (www.mudcat.org) and as I recall it has always been ultimately up to the gate and flight crews on each individual flight. Naturally, the situation is less “user-friendly” today than it was a year ago, and depending on the airport layout, the security team may have a say now also.
If he insists on the guitar being with him on the plane, I would suggest getting there plenty early so there’s time to check it if the gate/flight folks refuse to let it in the cabin. Keep in mind that a checked guitar that’s not in a VERY strong case (e.g. a Carlton) will be vulnerable.
As it happens, there were at least two people with guitars on my last flight (the one that’s caused such a brouhaha in the Pit), and both of them were able to get them to fit in the overhead, so nobody cared.
Damn airlines. No more guitar playing nuns.
At least the terminally ill children are safe.
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“There is only one river…only one stream…”
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Thanks everyone for all your input. You would not believe how hard it is to find a Flight Case on short notice! Virtually impossible here in Southern California. We called every Guitar Center ™, and practically every music shop around. My SO decided to call the airlines to see what their policy is and they said for an extra $45 he can bring his guitar in his gig-bag and either put it in the upper storage bin or wherever else they put extra luggage. Hopefully they will really do that when he gets there. Thanks again.
How would that happen? I don’t know about electric guitars, but I didn’t think acoustic guitars had any sealed air cavities in them. How would a change in air pressure put more tension on the springs?
I believe it’s actually more an issue of rapid temperature changes than air pressure.
I think it’s also the change in humidity. The air inside an airliner is extremely dry and I wouldn’t be surprised if it warped the wood enough to break the string.
Yes, it’s the temperature and humidity changes that can cause the wood to change shape slightly. With loose strings, the wood goes where it will and recovers when conditions change back. With tight strings, there’s the possibility that the string tension will increase dramatically. It’s no big deal if a string breaks, but a set of strings exerts an awful lot of tension, and could possibly permanently warp or break the guitar.
Not airplane related, but excessive heat is known to cause some guitars to self-destruct. Leaving one in a car trunk on a hot day is not a good idea.