FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Guitar Flight Case

Question:
On my recent trip to Seattle I took along my Martin OO 15, I acquired this little guitar expressly for a travel instrument and it is in a Calton heavy flight case. Leaving Alaska was no problem, I checked my luggage and walked through the security portal where I shoved the cased guitar through the x ray machine. I was not required to open the case for any further inspection. I proceeded to the airplane, walked on with the guitar case in hand and the stewardess said ,Oh that will fit in the overhead bin and if it doesn't I will put it in the closet for you. I was very surprised by the accommodating attitude of the flight crew and inspection people and thought to myself, this is a piece of cake. I was in for a major problem on the way back to Alaska from Seattle ten days later however. I again checked my luggage and got in the huge line for the inspection pat down. I had been in line for an hour when an airport security person told me , you are going to have to check that(guitar) as regular luggage. I told the story of my previous experience but was told that I could not walk on with the guitar or gate check it and that the policy was changing by the hour. I was allowed to retain my position in the massive line while checking the guitar which they informed me would be insured by the airlines for $2500.00 which seemed fair to me as the guitar and case value was well within that limit(a possible down payment on a McAlister?). I was also told that I could increase the insurance above the $2500 for $1.00 per thousand. They were careful to put fragile stickers on the case and assured me that it would be hand carried to and from the plane. I asked them why they weren't consistent with regard to the rules and they said it was pretty much the choice of each airport as to how they treated anything in the luggage area. I received my pat down which included removing my shoes and standing on one foot and the other while they ran the wand under the soles of my feet etc. While waiting to board the flight to Anchorage another Alaska flight deplaned and low and behold here comes a guy carrying a Martin case off the plane. The moral to this story is do not expect any consistency with regard to you guitar and do expect to check it on as regular luggage. If you don't have a flight case expect to sign a waver for an improperly packed musical instrument. Lets hope that when they get this fine tuned a bit more it will be easier and that the legislation with regard to valuable musical instruments becomes law. If you haven't had the displeasure of flying lately be ready for long waiting lines and invasive procedures, it took me a total of 2 hours to get thought the security check point and I had posted my ticket electronically and already had my boarding pass. Any comment?

Answer:
Most of the time, you won't have trouble walking on an airplane with a guitar in its case. Sometimes you will. If you're not prepared to check it, you'll either miss the flight, or risk losing the guitar. I personally travel with my guitar in a gig bag...I've never been required to check it, but I'm knowingly risking loss of the instrument (which is why I travel with an instrument I can afford to lose). Airlines and airports aren't consistant in their application of the rules, and they don't have to be. Guitars are clearly outside carryon guidelines, and anytime they let you do it, they've done you a favor that they're not required to do again. The tradeoff with a Calton case is that while it increases the protection of the instrument, it's size increases the chances of being asked to check it. I've never been asked to sign a waiver when checking an instrument (and I don't currently own any ATA-approved cases), but it's true that airlines can be exempt from covering losses from non-ATA approved cases. Happily, in every damage incident of which I've ever been told, the airline paid for the