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I exepct to pick up my guitar in Granada in December and will be bringing it with me when I fly back (to California). It is a Flamenca Negra by Jose Marin Plazuelo.
My flight back will be: Granada to Madrid (change planes). Madrid to Miami (change planes). Miami to California.
Has anybody flown back from Spain with a guitar? If so, what has your experience been? Especially with any issues hand carrying the guitar (in a hardcase, TKL hardcase or something similar) and putting it in the overhead compartment?
I flew with a guitar once or twice , but not such a long flight as that , anyway I keep the guitar as hand luggage and then as I get on I ask the Air hostess if they can store it for me and they have always said Yes .. they will not allow it in the overhead compartment and I dont think it fits anyway , and it cant be loose luggage in the compartment anyway , but things have changed a lot as this was a long time ago , maybe contact the operators to gt some info on the matter .....
El Kiko, thanks fo rthe suggestion. I have called American Airlines and they say if they have space, they will allow it. I suspect that this is their canned response. I am most concerned that I will be forced to check it in and if so, it may not survive the trip unscathe.
I did it twice, in both cases with a cheap but very reliable guitar in a cheap small, soft leather bag.
The first time we travelled with apr. 20 guitarist which obviously was to much to handle for 1 plane as additional hand luggage. The 19 hard-case ones were staged with the main luggage (and not very careful) but having a smaller case i was allowed to carry it with me as hand luggage. All guitars survived by the way.
The second time i carried it as hand luggage as well...(some other luggage became lost and arrived 2 days later). No idea if that would have been allowed with a bigger hardcover one.
You might contact them in front to argue your case.
I am flying with ryanair from finland to malaga and I don't think they'll allow a guitar as handluggage... If I check in the guitar in a hardcase and a padded carton box with fragile stickers on it should it be OK(who knows anyway...)? I also paid 50 euros for musical instrument fee so maybe they will treat it as such...
I've flown at least 20 times (From London to Europe mainly but also to Los Angeles) with a hard case put in the overhead locker. In fact I've just got off a plane this evening and I had a guitar in the overhead locker. I've never had any problems but it seems it is at the airlines descretion whether they let you take a guitar as handluggage, there's no guarantee.
RE: Flying With A Guitar (in reply to mark indigo)
Thanks for all the replies. After reading these as well as other threads, I feel more comfortable that my guitar will survive the trip unharmed. I hope that my nerves will too.
An expensive solution, but one with minimum hassle, is to buy a good flight case and check the guitar as baggage. My '67 Ramirez 1a blanca has over a million airline miles on it as checked baggage in a Reuer or Mark Leaf case. Neither of these is still in business, but equivalent cases are made by Calton, Hoffee and Karura. Make sure the case fits the guitar snugly, or fill in the gaps with rolled up T-shirts, clean socks and so on. I would buy a good padded case cover as well, to keep the flight case from getting scuffed up, and to provide even more protection.
When I bought my guitar in Spain I had a micro fiber towel with me. I wrapped the guitar in that before placing it in the case. And of course loosened the strings. When I got home I ordered a Hoffee case. I figured with how much I spent on the guitar and how nervous I was flying with it, it would be a good investment.
I had two bad experiences flying between Australia and Europe.
When i left Australia I had a guitar that i had just finished restoring. It was just completed and ready to begin playing in. When i arrived the case was fully in tact and the guitar looked fine. But after i re tensioned the strings in noticed the top caving in. The lower harmonic bar had been snapped. Someone must have placed something very heavy on the case.
When i returned to Australia i had a brand new media luna conde. Even though i tried they would not let me take it on board. Actually they said that if i had had a soft case they would have let me. But as if i was going to take the risk of turning up with a soft case and then be told i had to check it in as baggage
Anyway, when i arrived back to Australia, I was waiting for the guitar to be brought out on a trolley. For some reason i had left a dunlop capo in the centre compartment with the lid down. As the baggage handler appeared with the trolley i noticed half of the capo hanging out where the case had been split right along one of its joins. I felt angy and began to panic. Luckily when i opened the case the guitar was perfect without a mark on it. How they managed to split the case i will never know. I was just happy that my conde was in one piece.
That was Japan airlines both times. They obviously don't give a ***#
Clean socks out of respect for the delicate sensibilities of the Customs agents.
Although, in the last twenty years I have entered the USA at least 60 times, but I haven't been asked to open a suitcase or a guitar case during the whole period. I don't know what pops up on the computer when Immigration scans my passport, but without fail the agent says, "Welcome home, Mr. Jernigan."
More than 30 years ago I came in from London to JFK in New York. I was asked to open my suitcase. To my horror, I noticed I had failed to take care of certain items. The Customs agent pounced, grabbed them and said, "What are these?" with consummate New York rudeness.
"Cuban cigars," I replied.
It was winter. "Put 'em in your overcoat pocket, dummy!" the agent commanded. I did, and entered the USA without further difficulty.
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I felt angy and began to panic. Luckily when i opened the case the guitar was perfect without a mark on it. How they managed to split the case i will never know. I was just happy that my conde was in one piece. 
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