When I went to NYC from Brussels, I did not want to take the risk with my beautiful guitar. So well, I did not play guitar for the two weeks away but what a joy finding it again when I got home.
Good message. When I was still a teenager, I flew cross country with a really nice Gretsch electric in a good hard case. Communication among airline folk missed and instead of storing it in the closet it wound up down below. The cold temperature caused pretty bad hairline cracking in the finish. (Oh, and they lost it for a while but that's another story.) They offered to pay for repairs, but.....I don't fly any more but after that trip I was able to live without a guitar for any trip I took.
Good tip about detuning strings. I had a very good German-made classical guitar smashed beyond recognition, flying JetBlue. What’s worse, they did it on purpose. How do I know? The hard case was not damaged, only the guitar. Even though I checked it for special handling, they put it on the next flight instead, and when I complained on the phone about the delay, they sent it to my address, in the middle of the night, totally destroyed. The adventures of flying!
In my case, it is not negociable, for I cannot longer afford to buy my classical guitar which is a takamine. My guitar including a takamine hard case cost me near $3000 USD, and now I'm retired; thus, I cannot afford a new guitar like mine. I"m planning to travel to Spain to live there for my retirement and I'd like to take it with me. 🤔
Do you travel with your guitar in a hard case in the event that they force you to send it through baggage? I have a nice soft case with back straps; it’s lightweight and totally manageable. If I had to carry the hard case I’m not sure I’d be able to make it around the airport with it, let alone get it onto the plane. 😳🥺
Hi there, this is Zak. It depends on where you are flying from, the size of the plane, and the laws/policies around flying with an instrument. Most of the time, you can read the policy of the airline and arrive with some sort of legal writing about what is allowed on the plane. Chances are, a thin carry-on bag will make it (I'm not making any promises). If you arrive with an absolutely giant case or case cover that will surely not fit in the overhead bin, then chances are it will be sent down with baggage.
Hiscox guitar cases are very strong and designed on the inside with padding. I recently checked in my guitar for a flight from Israel to Australia with a change over at Hong Cong airport. I used an Hiscox case for my best guitar which is an Otto Vowinkel. The guitar arrived in perfect condition. These cases are quite expensive but certainly worth it if you value your guitar. They are super strong and will support several men standing on them. Check them out on the internet.
my experience is that hard cases make it much more likely for the check in people to say you need to check it. 2 days ago i checked in at the same time as someone next to me, who had a *larger* soft case guitar, and i had a hard case, and i had to spend 1 hour arguing with them (would have been nice to know about "look..." lol) but he had no problem.
no. the advice should have been get yourself a good hard case and check it in. a lot of airlines consider any large objects like guitar as items that can be used as weapons. a lot of them don’t even allow badminton racquets as carry ons and that make sense because you can actually kill people with that. the video was a complete waste.
Hey! To learn more about tips and tricks for traveling with your guitar, click the link below:
www.classicalguitarshed.com/flying-with-a-guitar/
When I went to NYC from Brussels, I did not want to take the risk with my beautiful guitar.
So well, I did not play guitar for the two weeks away but what a joy finding it again when I got home.
Good message. When I was still a teenager, I flew cross country with a really nice Gretsch electric in a good hard case. Communication among airline folk missed and instead of storing it in the closet it wound up down below. The cold temperature caused pretty bad hairline cracking in the finish. (Oh, and they lost it for a while but that's another story.) They offered to pay for repairs, but.....I don't fly any more but after that trip I was able to live without a guitar for any trip I took.
I thought you were going to talk about how to emotionally fly with your guitar as you play it 😂
Wow man, it is an amazing magic phrases for us to deal with those people. It may help us to deal with other non netgotiable situation. Thx!
I bought a guitar while studying overseas. Very helpful
I was just researching about this, thanks!!
Good tip about detuning strings. I had a very good German-made classical guitar smashed beyond recognition, flying JetBlue. What’s worse, they did it on purpose.
How do I know? The hard case was not damaged, only the guitar. Even though I checked it for special handling, they put it on the next flight instead, and when I complained on the phone about the delay, they sent it to my address, in the middle of the night, totally destroyed. The adventures of flying!
In my case, it is not negociable, for I cannot longer afford to buy my classical guitar which is a takamine. My guitar including a takamine hard case cost me near $3000 USD, and now I'm retired; thus, I cannot afford a new guitar like mine. I"m planning to travel to Spain to live there for my retirement and I'd like to take it with me. 🤔
Do you travel with your guitar in a hard case in the event that they force you to send it through baggage? I have a nice soft case with back straps; it’s lightweight and totally manageable. If I had to carry the hard case I’m not sure I’d be able to make it around the airport with it, let alone get it onto the plane. 😳🥺
Hi there, this is Zak.
It depends on where you are flying from, the size of the plane, and the laws/policies around flying with an instrument.
Most of the time, you can read the policy of the airline and arrive with some sort of legal writing about what is allowed on the plane. Chances are, a thin carry-on bag will make it (I'm not making any promises). If you arrive with an absolutely giant case or case cover that will surely not fit in the overhead bin, then chances are it will be sent down with baggage.
Do you have any recommendations on good hard shell cases?
Hiscox guitar cases are very strong and designed on the inside with padding. I recently checked in my guitar for a flight from Israel to Australia with a change over at Hong Cong airport. I used an Hiscox case for my best guitar which is an Otto Vowinkel. The guitar arrived in perfect condition. These cases are quite expensive but certainly worth it if you value your guitar. They are super strong and will support several men standing on them. Check them out on the internet.
my experience is that hard cases make it much more likely for the check in people to say you need to check it. 2 days ago i checked in at the same time as someone next to me, who had a *larger* soft case guitar, and i had a hard case, and i had to spend 1 hour arguing with them (would have been nice to know about "look..." lol) but he had no problem.
What has to happen for me to bring this on the plane?
I came into this video expecting a tutorial on how to literally fly with your guitar. I did just get high though
hahaha same xD
Just buy an extra seat for it !
no. the advice should have been get yourself a good hard case and check it in. a lot of airlines consider any large objects like guitar as items that can be used as weapons. a lot of them don’t even allow badminton racquets as carry ons and that make sense because you can actually kill people with that. the video was a complete waste.
Bro. Shut up. No one cares