Jay Olson -> RE: traveling with guitar (May 7 2007 13:15:25)
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Carrying your guitar on board and putting it into the coat closet or overhead bin is the best. In the U.S., there is supposedly a letter of official policy from the TSA stating that (prefoessional) musicians are allowed to bring their instruments (i.e. guitars) on board. In spite of that, actual policy varies according to the airline, whether you are flying domestic or international, what kind of plane it is, and most importantly, according to whoever happens to be working at the airport the day you fly. If you cannot take the guitar on board, then ask to gate check it. This is what people with strollers do. The agent at the gate takes the guitar and puts it in the luggage compartment before takeoff. At the conclusion of the flight, you wait outside the door of the plane, and an agent fetches it from the luggage compartment and hands it to you. This should be safe enough if you have a reasonable case. If you have to check the guitar, make sure it is packed well. Some sort of padding in the case might be good. On flights passing through the U.S., you are not allowed to lock your luggage (so they can open it and inspect it). To make sure your case doesn't pop open, you can get special luggage straps which close with a D-clip. Given the no-locks rule, these are useful for your normal luggage too.
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