Taking guitar on a Airplane?

[JVan]

I am getting ready to relocate and was wanting to take one of my guitars ( OM model) with me. I know there are rules to follow when taking a musical instrument onto an airplane. I am not checking the guitar,( would never leave my guitar at the mercy of the baggage handlers!) but I am going to try to get it in the plane cabin. I also am aware of the new law passed 3 years ago, ‘‘FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012,’’ . Has anyone flew with a guitar recently and if so do you have any pointers or tips for me?

THX
JV

[johnnparchem]

My daughter has to take a guitar I built for her back and forth from home to college a couple of times a year . She always takes the guitar to the gate, at least the law allows that to happen. She never has trouble carrying it through security. Unfortunately a guitar in a case does not always fit in the overhead luggage bins and there is nothing in the law that says that the airlines have to accommodate, only that they have to allow it if there is room in normal carry on space or you purchase an addition seat (for larger instruments). She has found that by taking the guitar to the gate allows the guitar to be gate checked if there is no room. Instead of going through the normal luggage process the guitar is put in the cargo hold such that it can be removed and delivered right at the gate. The gate checked luggage is handled by hand and there is not that much of it. She never has had any problem with the way the gate people treat the instrument. She carries it in a normal type of a case, I do have her stuff the area under the head stock has the head stock with the tuners is heavy and the instrument is supported on the weakest part of the neck.

[A neil rus]

I recently returned from Indonesia and took a new custom J 45 I had made . It went in baggage from Victoria BC in Canada to Jakarta Indonesia via Hong Kong. It made it in one piece , no trouble. It was with Air Canada to Hong Kong and then Cathay Pacific to Jakarta. I was very concerned that the minimum wage morons handling it would damage it so I took extra care in wrapping it up. First I made sure that there was no space around the body, peg head or neck . [packed the inside of the case with bubble wrap ,tee shirts and socks etc.] Then I purchased some 1" solid foam insulation and cut strips that I taped to the sides of the case. Next I cut 2 pieces the shape of the top and bottom of the case. The case is now completely covered in ridged foam insulation. I then went on to wrap bubble wrap all around the foam ,tapping with packing tape as I went. I now had a guitar in a case ,covered in on inch ridged foam and another 1/2 " or so of bubble wrap. Anyway it worked for me and customer is playing it.