Flying with a Guitar

[django]

What is the best way to fly with a guitar? I find it hard to believe that some people would allow their Ramirez concert model to go through common baggage especially with the way they are handled, damage, theft etc. Are there certain airlines that are more guitar friendly etc? The safest way to transport it would be to bring it as carry-on but in these post 9/11 days is that possible?

Any info would help.

Thanks,
Django

[Rex]

There is an excellent article about this on this site at:
http://www.guitarsalon.com/index.php?site_url=146
I am not a professional musician so I have a $200 guitar I use for travel. I know some other guitarist who do the same.

[portlandgreg2]

I've flown with a guitar recently and had no trouble carrying it on board. The case even fit in the overhead compartment (Alaska Airlines).

I use the basic techniques of respect and friendliness with the check-in personel to increase my chances that they will let me carry it on board. A smile goes a long way, too. I politely let them know that the instrument is worth thousands of dollars and I would have trouble replacing it. They are usually understandning and as I said, I've had no resistance.

[Flynn]

If guitar is expencive - insure it. And when buying ticket try to get permission to take it on board.
I know one prossional cellist, he always take's his very expencive cello on board - he buys a sit for it :wink:

[rquinones27]

I have a question regarding air travel with a guitar. I have read the article on air travel and although very informative I still have some questions that I’m hoping anyone can help me with. The questions relate more to the cases than the guitars themselves. I will be traveling on Southwest Airlines, which you know have smaller planes than other airlines. They also have more restrictions than others and from what I’ve been told, chances are that I will have to check my guitar at the counter as luggage, as they don’t allow guitars in planes. Also, since the Homeland Security level has been raised, I don’t think I have a good case in trying to take my guitar with me inside the plane.

I have two SKB guitars cases, one is the SKB-30 Hardshell Case with the Cordoba logo on the side http://www.guitarsalon.com/store.php?it=ACSKBXX-01830 .

The other one is the SKB SFR-3 which looks just like the Humicase http://www.guitarsalon.com/store.php?it=ACHUMCL-03044 . I understand that these two cases are outstanding, but is one better than the other? Would one offer more protection than the other? How would they stand up to the rigors of air travel? I know I’m taking my chances by allowing my guitar to go with the luggage if that is the case, but I have to have my guitar with me. If there is any consolation to me, I will be taking my “less expensive” guitar. Please help.

[adrian]

Be sure to read our article "Traveling With Your Guitar" (http://www.guitarsalon.com/index.php?site_url=146)

[rquinones27]

Adrian,
Thanks for your response. I have already read the article, and I have already (gulp!) made up my mind about taking the guitar. However, I just want to make sure that I take the case that would afford me the best chance of coming back home with my guitar in one piece if I do have to check it as luggage. Which case should I take? Do you have a suggestion between the two cases I mentioned? Both cases are made by SKB and to the untrained eye, look to be made pretty much in the same manner. Thanks in advance.
Robert

[adrian]

Both do offer a comparable level of protection, but if you are using humidification in either case, I would take that one in order to cushion the change in humidity from your origination to your destination. Also, be careful of the humidity in the room(s) where your guitar will be outside of its case once you get there.

May I ask where you are flying from and to?

[rquinones27]

I am going to Orlando, Florida and according to The Weather Channel, the weather is pretty much what we are getting here in San Diego, Ca.

[NGiorgio]

Roberto,

I took a guitar on Southwest back in Oct. 2001. I bought a seat for it. I had spoken to the airline prior to the trip, and as I remember, they would not be responsible for damage if it went with luggage. My flight was from Tampa, FL to MacArthur airport, here in NY. I have heard too many horror stories about instruments going in baggage. Hardshell cases do not offer enough protection if the guitar is thrown around and or dropped. Ask to have it hand carried on and off the plane. Or pack it in a sturdy carton. If you are flying during the holidays, one of the busiest times for the airlines, there may be more risk than at a quieter time of the year. Good luck.

[edwardcav]

I am about to fly from Dubbo to Sydney (1.5 hour flight) in approximately a month. I am also worried about my guitar - it is only worth about $3000 but still means a lot to me. I am planning on wrapping it in silk, covering the gaps in the case with my cloths and then wrapping the hole thing with bubble wrap until the case barely closes (but does). Should I loosen strings beforehand?

I am also going to attach an in-case humidifer and attach heaps of "fragile" stickers to the case. I hope this will be fine.

Any suggestions? They said it would be too big to take on board. :(

[snetzley]

Hi Edward,

I just got back from a trip. We flew and I took my old Yamaha guitar along. I have a hard shell case for it. Do NOT check your guitar with the normal baggage. Take it to the gate with you. If it's too big to go in an overhead bin, you can check it at the gate. They will hand carry it onto the plane. When you arrive at your destination, they will bring the guitar to you as you exit the plane. This way your guitar is not subjected to the rough handling that the other baggage receives.

On our flights out to Wisconsin I checked my guitar at the gate. The handlers were very gentle with it. On the way back, we flew in bigger planes. My guitar fit into the overhead bins on the bigger planes.

I also loosened the strings by about a half turn on the pegs.

I hope this information helps.a :lol:

[edwardcav]

Sharon:

They wont let me take it on board. Only through like normal luggage... I'm scared for my baby.

I guess I will just havbe to bublewrap it right up and put mean fragile stickers on it.

Hope for the best?

[snetzley]

Hi Edward,

Yep, the best you can do is wrap it well and put fragile stickers all over it. I suspect it'll be just fine. Try not to worry. :roll:

[edwardcav]

thanks sharon.

it's hard though! :oops:

[rquinones27]

After thinking very hard and reading your replies to this post about whether to take my guitar with me while I went on vacation, I decided not to take my guitar with me. After 15 days of guitar withdrawal, now I am regretting not having my guitar with me. There were plenty of opportunities to play with and for my family as well as to practice while I had plenty of time in my hands. Now I am facing the uncomfortable reality that my fingers are "a little lazy" to say the least. Since this might happen again in the future (I hope not!), I have a question regarding travel guitars.

Does anyone out there own, has played or can give me an opinion on the Martin Backpacker Classical guitar? The price for this travel guitar is not that bad. I also looked at the Soloette's, but the price is a more than I'm willing to pay considering that I don't travel on a regular basis. Thanks in advance.

[TheEvan]

I think a better alternative to a travel guitar is to purchase a Calton Deluxe case. The you can safely bring your own guitar wherever you go, with no fear of checking it...

[dbiagini]

Over the Christmas holidays I flew with my guitar on Southwest from Oakland to Chicago. Each time at check-in I asked if I could take my guitar on board. In Oakland the agent said yes and that if I had any trouble at security or at the gate to take it back to him and he'd make it "fragile". I had no trouble and carried it on board. The flight attendent asked me to sit in the back an use the overhead bins back there. I did. No problems.

In Chicago I asked if I should check my guitar or carry it on board. The agent told me to take it on board! I did without incident. A few tips: get to the airport as early as possible so you can board in the "A" group. This gives you a better chance at an open overhead bin. I travelled with a Conde Hermanos flamenco guitar and it fit in the overhead bin. Also, loosen the strings just in case they make you check it as baggage - be prepared for the worse!

Overall, Southwest was very guitar-friendly. Just be nice to them. :D

[edwardcav]

Hi all.

Well, I leave tomorrow for Sydney for my very first masterclass, amongst an array of lectures and activites, in a 5-day summer school/workshop held by Sydney Classical guitar society.

Very excited about everyting, this is a huge deal for me. But not at all excited about the plane trip where my I fear for my baby's innocence and vulnerablity.

Everyone keep all the new and exciting threads... This forum is growing up heaps!! i return home on Monday.

Until then, bye all! 8)

[adrian]

Sounds great! Have fun Edward. And be sure to come back and tell us about it in the Guitar Events folder.

Adrian, GSI

[Dimitri]

I check in my guitars as luggage all the time. I've done it four times (internationally!) and have had no problems. No insurance, either.

However, I DID use a Calton case. As you know, these are probably the strongest guitar cases in the world (and the most expensive).

Clearly, the case received some pretty hard dings, which maybe would have damaged any other guitar case (and the guitar inside it). But, Caltons are damn-near bullet proof.

My 81 Ramirez 1a made it through 4 flights just fine. And I would do it again, without a second thought, if I use a Calton case. Also, if you're concerned about humidity, don't spend tons on money on humidity contraptions... just wrap a piece of apple and put it in the case.... problem solved.

Dimitri

[keith]

so an apple a day will keep the luthier away. did you get your aaron green yet?

[Dimitri]

Just talked with Aaron today. The guitar should be finished in the next month or so. I'm very excited.

Dimitri

[keith]

way cool dimitri. i have seen listings for a dimitri in performance situations--is that you or the guy from russia?

[Richard Jernigan]

I have a 1967 1a Ramirez flamenco with the intitials of Antonio Martinez on the heel of the neck. I bought it new. It has several hundred thousand airline miles on it, mostly in a Mark Leaf case, quite a few thousand in a Reuer case. Neither of these excellent makers is in business any more. Calton makes of cases of similar quality.

The Ramirez has been to London, Paris, Rome, much of the USA, Tokyo, Taiwan, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Bali, Manila.....and intermediate points.

Throughout much of the '70s I imported Ramirez guitars, a few at a time into the USA on American Airlines, British Airways or Iberia. I relied on my frequent flyer status (2 million miles on American, a bit less on the other two) to get the guitars into the passenger cabin. Almost all the time the ticket, gate, and cabin personnel were wonderfully friendly and accommodating. But eventually I tired of the infrequent exceptions, when I was required to sit in an office and kowtow to the authority of some official until he or she found that I had been sufficiently subservient to allow my two guitars into the passenger cabin.

The least hassle is to get a bullet proof case and check the guitar as baggage. This is how the Ramirez flamenco has run up its several hundred thousand miles, letting me play it in hotel rooms or condos in Europe, the USA, Latin America, Southeast Asia, etc.

What is a bullet proof case? It looks like Calton, a guy in Scotland, and the people who do David Russell's case are presently at the top of the heap. These cost more than $600. But there are other alternatives.

About 4 1/2 years ago I bought a 1982 Arcangel Fernandez flamenco in perfectly mint condition from a dealer, about whom I had some doubts (not Guitar Salon). But I had it appraised by one of the most reliable luthiers in America. He shipped it in a molded plywood arch top case with a padded cover, inside a tri-wall cardboard carton filled with plastic peanuts. I live on a remote island in the Central Pacific. The guitar came through okay, having been from Chicago to Memphis to Tokyo to Guam, etc.

Not much later I bought the '73 Romanillos built just before Julian Bream's. Same appraiser. This time in a Spanish hard plastic case with a waterproof gasket, again in a tri-wall cardboard container filled with styrofoam peanuts. I watched while they put the guitar onto the commuter plane for the last lap to my tiny island. The worker needed about six inches more height to reach the cargo bay conveniently. The carton containing the Romanillos was just the right thickness, so he laid it down and stood on it. I was acquainted with the baggage agent, who ambled out to the plane and asked the guy not to stand on the guitar. It was well insured, and I had not yet had the opportunity to play it and to fall madly in love with it.

I feel much better checking guitars as baggage in what I have found to be bullet proof cases, than I do relying on the frequent good will of ticketing and gate agents. But the very best cases cost a lot. One of the most respected luthiers in America is comfortable shipping guitars in molded plywood arch top (and back) cases, (about $180) in a padded case cover (maybe $100?), inside a very stout cardboard carton filled with styrofoam peanuts.

Since it is often very humid here, or raining when they unload the plane, I ask anyone who ships me a guitar to put it into a plastic garbage bag and seal it up with duct tape before they put it into the heavy cardboard carton.

Loosen the strings. If the case is loose around the body, pack in some underwear. The most common damage is when the case gets a hard blow that breaks the tuning head from the neck. Few cases support the head and neck well. If the case doesn't support the neck, find one that does and spend the money. If the case supports the neck, but doesn't support the tuning head above and below, use enough pairs of socks to do the job.

RNJ

[snetzley]

Well, after reading some of these posts I am feeling more confident about flying with my guitar. Now, any suggestions for keeping it safe if you have to go someplace without it - like out to dinner or to the gym - while traveling?

That's my second biggest concern.