Ricardo -> RE: Air Travel with a Guitar (Feb. 14 2023 12:53:21)
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Nothing is different in 27 years of flying with my best guitars (Conde Hermanos, Jernonimo Peña, Max Bishop, etc.). You get a hard case that doesn’t lock (TSA will break that shyt just to see the label) but won’t accidentally open either (zipper is ideal, or zipper rain cover I use on the Visenut) so latches won’t open. Don’t say ANYTHING just walk onboard with a big fat smile like nothing is wrong (if you want to pay for early boarding options, it could give a piece of mind but doesn’t matter if flight is full and you are not first class. Boarding group LMNOP, whatever, is fine, you will get on). If they warn of a full flight they will tag and bag it for you nicely. Most of the time they let you have a go to get it in the overhead bin yourself, it doesn’t HAVE to be right over your seat, or even near it, but don’t be a jerk about it, try to get it close to you. Sometimes they have closet space, or FIND a space for you. Last time, cuz I was so damn nice, some lady airline agent let me board with pregnant ladies/kids/elderly and first class BECAUSE of the guitar (I did not ask to do that). If you can’t get it over head in a free bin, then don’t freak out. Just wait, or give it to the flight attendant and they will store it somehow or tag and bag it for you. IF THEY TAG AND BAG IT: ask where to pick it up. Often like strollers and stuff they leave it there as you walk off plane. Sometimes it goes through baggage anyway. DON”T FREAK OUT. Just go collect it from baggage. Sometimes they have a special baggage area for oversized items, or “handle with care” stuff. I have collected guitars there as well. You should know in advance cuz they will tell you, or the guy that brings the strollers will tell you where it went. I have lost luggage before (not a guitar) but even still, they find the luggage and send it to your hotel where ever you are. One time I left my guitar on the sidewalk in Madrid after paying the cab. I went in to the Hotel, took a shower then realized no guitar. I went out to the lobby, they didn’t know anything. I walked outside and there it was on the sidewalk with 2 million people walking around it. So, have no fear, relax, take your guitar, enjoy your trip. (Now here come the horror stories from everybody else) Guys, I have flown hundreds of times. The horror stories are one in millions of bad luck cases. Don’t live your lives that way.
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