Topic: Flying with a guitar....

[Richard]

I started this as a topic specific to the Guernsey event, but then thought if might be useful as general guide for those who at some stage may want to fly with their guitar - what a lovely thought so for you brave travellers coming here (or going there) by air here a few tips as to how to keep your instruments intact with the local airlines - airlines, Ha Ha that sounds a bit grand for Guernsey!

Right, I'll probably get sued for saying some of this but here we go.... there are two main carriers - Flybe.com and Aurigny.com. First, it's important to realise that all flights in and out can be severly affected by the weather not just here but in England as well.

Of the two, Aurigny are the smaller (and more rickety!) but are generally the more user friendly as they just serve the islands whereas Flybe tries to go everywhere and when things start to go wrong well the on-board staff are usually fine but they take their orders from on high, Okeh? Now, having said that most things run pretty much to time so don't panic...yet

Basically for any air travel  you need a good strong guitar case, as an example I've got a Carlton case and they still manage to gouge that :shocked:  However, for ages I used a pretty standard case with extra straps and I when Ian McWee came over he cunningly taped some steel rods up the neck of his case to reinforce it - just do whatever you think is safe, what have you to loose. Now, It's not as bad as it sounds as lots of funny things get sent over here - Hello !!

Another good example is a mother, young baby and the ubiquitous buggy in those cases they will allow her to take\wheel it to the plane and the then put it in the hold at the steps  -  got it? So when you check in ask if you can take you guitar to the plane so it gets carefully put in the hold and then at the other end ask for it back sometimes they offer that option to you - who knows if the flight is not that full you might be able to talk them into taking it on board with you, when HomesickMac came over they let him take gigbag in the cabin - depends who is doing it, so just sweet talk 'em into it like any good Weenie should!!!

On a practical note, it seems to be the thing to slacken off the strings somewhat (not totally) before travel, the reason being that the baggage hold of an aircraft is usually VERY cold (particularly on a long transatlantic flight) and the expansion\contraction bit between wood and metal with tensioned strings could result in something nasty happening. Although, personally, with the all metal tricone I don't bother since no flight from here is longer than an hour in the air (Southampton only 25 mins max!!) and they only make it up to 15,000 feet max anyway, whoops that sounds good!!

Ah, one other tip regarding actually packing the guitar in the case (if it does not fit like a glove, as the Carlton cases do) then the stuff the voids all around the guitar with crumpled newspaper. Be particulary carefull around the neck as it is the shock of the guitar being inadvertently dropped on its nose and moving forward in the case to wreck the headstock that is the danger.

A safe trip and I rest my case, sorry I couldn't resist that

[Rivers]

Rather than using crumpled newspaper I use T-shirts, socks, underwear. Crumpled newspaper, while you could wear it at the other end, is hard to make it look good unless you're going to a hobo's convention. 

[Slack]

Good article for preparing a guitar for travel here:

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/GenMaint/Packing/packing1.html

[Richard]

Rivers... I'll stick with newspaper packing, the theory being that it's acts as a diy crumple zone besides which I'll have something read whilst I wait for the delayed plane and you are panicking that you've lost all 'yer knickers 

[natterjack]

I've flown FlyBe from Southampton with a guitar and they were very good about letting me carry it on to the tarmac to see them put it in the hold (and collect it on the other side). Southampton is a pretty small airport so they don't use the air bridges and you can wait around for it to be loaded/unloaded. They use small planes too, so it won't be a long way to the ground when they chuck it out the hold.

This was before the security alerts last summer though. But I guess you should be OK as long as you don't have any suspect liquids in the your case - or Christmas pudding (I'm told its indistinguishable from plastic explosive on the x-ray!)

[Baird]

another protective measure is to put your protective case into a case cover.
that will keep the handles and latches from getting bashed off an expensive case!

[Slack]

What I've done is to wrap a bungie cord around the waist of the guitar - it helps secure a latch opening, but makes it easy for security to open, close and re-bungie.

[Parlor Picker]

Sadly I won't be able to make it to Guernsey.  Hopefully things will go well and we might have a gathering on the mainland next time.

A cautionary tale comes from British singer/slide guitarist. Kevin Brown - on a flight back from Jersey he just happened to notice the baggage handlers unloading the plane, only to see his precious Gibson being thrown from the plane to land neck-first on the tarmac!!  Apparently he "had words" with the handler in question.  Miraculously, the guitar had survived unscathed.

I think the moral of the story is to take as many precautions as possible, as suggested in this thread.  Package the instrument well in its case and do all you can to accompany it on its journey to and from the cargo hold.

[Rivers]

Happened to my '48 Gibson ES-125 archtop at LAX after an internal flight from San Jose. I saw the case, covered in red 'Fragile!' stickers, fly out the cargo door of the plane and land on the ramp. 

Flying with anything less than a flight case is not really an option, baggage handlers just don't care frankly. Slack's bungee cord trick is a good one, I did that last time. Also get to the flight in plenty of time so you can talk with the check-in ppl about options like self carry-on or staff carry-on/off. If you leave it too late they're naturally more stressed out and in a hurry.

[Johnm]

Hi all,
One other issue pertaining to flying with your guitar:  getting to baggage claim as expeditiously as possible after your flight lands, if you had to check your guitar and were not allowed to carry it on.  Most airports nowadays have no one checking baggage checks on items being carried out of the baggage claim area.  My guitar, a number of years ago, was in a good Calton case, and was taken from the baggage claim area after a complicated set of circumstances.  I was very fortunate to get it back, but a great case won't keep your guitar from being stolen if you don't take adequate precautions.
All best,
Johnm

[Coyote Slim]

This is why I'm afeared to travel right now... I want to carry my baby on board...I ain't gonna let 'em stuff her in a hold.  If I had seen a baggage handler throw my guitar to land "neck-first on the tarmac" I'd be on the no flight list because of what I would have done to baggage handler!

[Slack]

Just a little reminder for those flying with the Guitars to Port Townsend:

United Breaks Guitars (One way of getting back at the airlines   )



The Followup, United offered him soe money!



Full story:
http://www.davecarrollmusic.com/story/united-breaks-guitars/

[Pan]

Hint. Choosing an airline company really matters.

If you fly with Air Force One, they apparently let you take the guitar in the cabin!

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/News/Michelle-Obama-French-406/   

Cheers

Pan

[Mr.OMuck]

In a previous life I was an art handler-mover of priceless objects. Try packing a priceless eggshell thin pre Columbian ceramic sculpture at eight am with a ferocious hangover while the anxious owner looks on. That was me.
Here's how I'd do it given my d'ruthers.
1. Buy a box of acid free tissue paper 24x36" sheets (Talas library supplies, NY)
2. Wrap entire guitar,crumpling and building up paper beneath the neck and head so that you end up with a bundle  where you can't tell the front from the back of the guitar. Pad face and back and sides with 3" or so thickness. Paper touching the guitar should be rolled.
3. Wrap the whole bundle with two thicknesses of large bubble-bubble wrap.
4. Trace silhouette of resulting bundle and cut shape out of ectofoam which is then inserted in a wooden crate lined with water barrier house construction paper. the top and sides should have a 2' layer of foam as well.
5. Send the case separately.

[Chezztone]

I blogged about flying with your guitar (on an airplane, that is)...might help if you're taking a trip this summer and nervous about taking it with you: http://stevecheseborough.com/2009/07/15/flying-with-your-guitar/
Cheers, SC

[thecountryblues]

If you think flying with a guitar is fun, try checking through security with a harmonica case.
The perplexed security officer pulled each one out, one by one, as two more reinforcement security guards gathered to check out the suspicious solid-aluminum Hohner Meisterklasse instruments.
I kept saying "Please do" touch my harmonicas like that" and the more annoyed I got at the evidently unhygienic contamination of my mouth-organ instruments, they became more and more convinced that I was a true national-threat terrorist subversive with a new form of bizarre miniature explosive.
It was like a Woody Allen movie.
You should have seen how they looked at me. A guitar would have seemed lovely at the moment.