2

I want to buy a C.F.Martin Dreadnaught Junior guitar on Sweetwater, which would be shipped to Arlington, Texas. My sister would carry it in her personal baggage on her next flight to India.

What cautions and packing should be done to the guitar? Which airline is recommended that would carry musical instruments with dignity?

Any experiences?

1
  • Sometimes it will be allowed in the overhead locker. Last time my guitar went on a plane, I was assured it would be o.k. overhead, only to be refused at entry. It went in the hold, luckily in a full flightcase. Return journey - same airline - they helped me to put it in a special overhead locker! No sense!
    – Tim
    Apr 23, 2018 at 9:19

2 Answers 2

2

Airlines don't handle the baggage, the airport handles the baggage.
There is no airport in the world I would trust to not break something breakable.

As a joke, I used to have stickers that said, "Fragile! Please throw underarm"

As a frequent traveller I used to consider the average life of a suitcase to be 3 flights. I've had them run over - tyre tracks right over their dented, mangled forms; crushed between baggage trucks; dropped from a height great enough to smash holes in carbon fibre [I buy expensive suitcases, airline services keep having to buy me new ones.]
Soft bags have a better survival rate, but provide zero protection for the contents.

So, short of a full-blown flight case[1], which will at least make the baggage handlers have to deal with it separately, you need to be able to get it into the cabin.

How you achieve that will depend a whole lot on the airline & whether you're flying in the good seats or down in the chickens.[2]

[1]which would cost more than the guitar. Cheap substitutes are not good enough.
[2]industry term for 'coach/economy'

1
  • Not even Singapore Airlines, or Emirates? I mean they brag about baggage handling big time. Isn't there hope flying on five star airlines either, those that have a say on how baggage should be handled at the airport?
    – hwork21
    Apr 23, 2018 at 9:09
1

It's a $500 guitar so paying for a flight case or advanced shipping protection is probably not warranted.

There are two options

  1. Bring it as carry on. It clearly violates the maximum dimensions for most airlines, but more often than not, they will accept it if you ask nicely. You may have to pay a little extra for "priority boarding" to make sure, there is space when you get in. There maybe some dirty looks from other passengers that want to use overhead space as well, but that's a little less likely on international flights, where more people check bags. It is no brainer, if you pay for business class.
  2. Check it in the original packaging as it comes from Sweetwater. The packaging is designed to withstand UPS and FedEx abuse, so it's fairly sturdy. I'd think there is probably a 90% chance it'll make it fine this way, but there is a non-trivial chance of damage.

If the damage is "outlandish" the airline may pay compensation. I checked a guitar in a hard shell case once, and they ran with a truck over a corner of the case. The part of the case was totally destroyed but miraculously the guitar was intact. We got $100 or for a new case, if I remember correctly.

2
  • Over the hours, I felt like it is better to stretch my budget a bit, go for the DRS2 (from the C F Martin Stable itself), which actually comes with a hardshell case. The hardshell would be able to tolerate the abuse right ! I think rather than spending additional cash for unnecessary (and heavy) accessories, I better sit myself down with a better guitar that has a respectable case, and has a bigger and deeper tonal quality
    – hwork21
    Apr 24, 2018 at 4:13
  • @hwork21: Check with the airline. See for example united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/baggage/fragile.html and search for guitar
    – Hilmar
    Apr 24, 2018 at 15:43

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.