Would you guys fly with a guitar in a standard hard shell case?

[BLUtunes]

I'm trying to make the same decision that others are contemplating here. Have a vacation coming up in Montana (the Bozeman area). Trying to decide if I should ship a guitar out there and ship it back or try to fly with it. I am not contemplating getting an expensive flight case for it. Just the normal hard shell case that it came with (a pretty nice one). Which way would you guys go?

[Teleman52]

Nope seen too many YouTube videos of the way baggage handlers handle baggage on flights. They may not be indicative of the average flight but they're indicative of something.

If I traveled I would have a voyage air for sure

[rmyAddison]

No, I would arrange carry-on............

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by BLUtunes

I'm trying to make the same decision that others are contemplating here. Have a vacation coming up in Montana (the Bozeman area). Trying to decide if I should ship a guitar out there and ship it back or try to fly with it. I am not contemplating getting an expensive flight case for it. Just the normal hard shell case that it came with (a pretty nice one). Which way would you guys go?

Hi Bt...

Depends on the guitar.

I fly with a soft-shell case (Voyage-Air VAOM-06).

[Azaro Ariño]

I travel with a regular skb ABS case, but ONLY with guitars that are both replaceable and inexpensive.

I would never do this with a guitar I really care about.

[tnvol]

I've done it before. I've been lucky.

[HHP]

If you ship it, it will be the the same cargo hold and handled by the same people. It will have the added protection of a box and padding. You could put it in the same box and padding and check it.

Best to request permission to carry it on.

[NevadaPic]

I usually ship my guitar UPS Ground ahead such that it will be at my destination by the time I arrive by air. Flying is hassle enough without having to worry about a guitar.

[seannx]

I would do it with one of my guitars in its factory hardshell case, as long as it was on American Airlines, where I have Platinum status, or maybe Southwest, where I can pay to board early, and carry it on at the earliest opportunity. At worst, on a small commuter flight, I might have to gate check it, but from my experience, that is very minimal risk. I would never send it through regular baggage, unless it was in a flight approved heavy duty case, or in the regular case packed inside a cardboard shipping box, with the headstock padded. I have my guitars listed with my renters insurance policy, so even if was lost or damaged, I would get total replacement cost anyway. Since I have a Voyage Air, bringing it on board is not a concern, but I've seen plenty of people carrying on full size guitars in gig bags or hard shell cases.

[MJRB]

Originally Posted by Azaro Ariño

I travel with a regular skb ABS case, but ONLY with guitars that are both replaceable and inexpensive.

I would never do this with a guitar I really care about.

That would be my decision too. In fact I wouldn't fly with one of my best guitars at all. Luckily I don't have to. If I had to, as many of you do, I'd probably have a Voyage Air.
JMHO
MJRB

[Chicago Sandy]

I flew with my 000-16GTCE to Nashville and with my 414rce and 814ce to San Diego on SW, and my 414rce to Des Moines on United, all of the guitars in their original Geib-style factory hardshell cases as checked baggage. I was lucky: no problems. But mostly I'd either try carrying them on or gate-checking them in a factory case (hardshell or Voyage-Air. American twice let me use the first-class coat closet for my old 614ce and so did United to & from LAX with that 000-16GTCE)--even though I flew coach one of those times, and Air Tran's flight attendants even hoisted my Gibson SWD and D-18GE, in their factory hard cases, into the overheads for me.

I've carried gig-bagged guitars onto SW with no problems--they used to give me priority boarding back in the days before you could pay for that privilege. I've tarmac-checked small guitars (Larrivee Parlour in gigbag, Voyage-Air, and the aforementioned Martin 000 and 414rce in their factory hard cases) on commuter airlines without incident; but even though I did the same with a dulcimer in a gigbag on United from Des Moines and Porter Air to Toronto, I had to intercept the dulcimer at O'Hare before it hit the ground as it was being dropped off a conveyor chute from said commuter flight from Des Moines; they offloaded the guitar in its hardshell case by hand. Porter still broke my dulcimer even though it was hand-loaded-and-unloaded; never going to use one of those flimsily-padded oblong nylon gigbags again. My bad.

Next time I fly with a guitar I will either carry on a Voyage-Air or gate-check a flight case; dulcimers will be double-bagged in their form-fitting thickly padded cases which are then packed into separate compartments of a padded double-dulcimer bag the size & shape of a golf bag. The latter has always worked for me--baggage handlers seem to respect golf clubs more than they do instruments. Couldn't do that on Porter, though--they had strict total weight and size limits, and charged fees for each bag. The dulcimer bag would have been $175 each way; my bag fees would have exceeded my airfare.

Check your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy--some will not cover instruments that are used professionally. Some don't cover instruments at all. Separate music-equipment-only policies are available through your P.R.O. (or AFofM if a member) at a considerable discount. They even cover laptops used for music-related purposes.

[Dru Edwards]

I've done it a few times but with my inexpensive Yamaha 12 string. No issues but I wouldn't want to check any of my nice guitars, at least not with a standard case.

[BLUtunes]

OK. Thanks for the replies gang!

I'll either ship one (one of my less expensive guitars), or make arrangements to carry it on. It's going to be a five day trip so I think I want to make sure that I have something to play.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on the matter!

[thedict8or]

As long as the guitar NEVER enters the automated baggage handling/sorting system, you're good. Gate valet and carry-on only. That way only humans handle your instrument. I fly with guitars a lot and have never had a problem.

[harmonics101]

I dunno if I would try to fly with a guitar in a standard hard shell case.

Unless of course, the guitar has wings

H

On a serious note though, 5 days without a guitar ? Compared to the trouble of getting it there ? I'd say, go enjoy Bozeman without a guitar