Have you ever tried to take a guitar with you on an airplane? When going to Vienna yesterday, I was thinking about it, but finally decided not to due to the fact that the risk of it ending up with the other luggage was too high.
I was planning to take my Washburn Acoustic/Electric guitar with me to Vienna so I can play and practice a bit, but I did not want to check it in with the other luggage. First and foremost because of the low temperatures inside the cargo area of the plane and second because I don’t have a hard case for it.
I flew with Austrian from London to Vienna and called their helpdesk in the morning to check whether having a musical instrument inside the cabin would be okay. Their conditions did not really make it clear, as they were only talking about instruments in general. The helpdesk guy told me that I can only take hand luggage with me that does not exceed 55cm x 40cm x 25cm and, surprise, surprise, a guitar is bigger. That man is a genius, I thought. He also advised me that I would need to book an extra seat if I would want to take it with me. This sounded a bit crazy, but I considered this to be true - cause after 9/11 everything seems to be in favor of more restrictions to increase the security of the passengers. Allegedly.
The thing is, I was also considering taking my guitar with me when I was flying EasyJet at Christmas. I am glad I finally did not, because of the very delayed flight et al. but the thing is: They (kind of) allow you to take a music instrument with you, but the guys at Luton Airport would not allow you to proceed through security, because of the “one bag only as hand luggage” rule. Awesome.
I also did some research on the web where people mostly reported that they had no problem bringing their guitar on board. Some told that they had to do a “gate check” which means that you leave your guitar at the door of the airplane (at the gate), similar to strollers etc., and Airport personnel then puts these things manually in the luggage area of the plane. Still not good, because of the temperature differences which can harm the body of the guitar.
So I finally decided again not to take the guitar with me to Vienna this time, but wanted to check with the staff at the airport if I could have.
First, I checked with the guy at the Austrian check-in counter. Answer: Yes, I can take it with me.
Second, I checked with one of the flight attendants on my flight: Answer: Yes, you can take it with you, if the guy at check in said it is ok.
Third, I checked with another ground staff at Vienna International Airport. He told me that booking an extra seat is nonsense and only applies if you have a really big instrument, like a chello or something comparable in size. A guitar can either fit in one of the overhead compartments or in special compartments that the crew has to store things like that. So yes, no problem at all, he said.
So it seems this checklist should be sensible to go through next time:
- Check with airline web site or helpdesk if they have any special hand luggage restrictions regarding instruments
- If you fly with Austrian Airlines, just take it with you
- Just to be safe, use a hard case for the guitar instead of a regular soft bag
- If you want to be really safe, do it like a pro
I’ve made a mistake of letting my electric guitar land in the cargo/ luggage compartment. It’s not really about the temperature that you should be worried about but rather the way the cargo personnels handle the luggages. I’ve seen with my own eyes after landing from the arrival corridor how they threw my guitar onto the cargo buggy along with the other luggages. My guitar neck was spoilt.
The ironic thing is that I wasn’t the only one who brought a guitar. My bassist (bass is a much bigger instrument) brought hers in after demanding that the airline be held responsible if anything were to happen. I wasn’t there at the moment and hence didn’t “learn” from her and naively let the aircrew take my guitar away, thinking they will take good care of it.
I guess my point for people who read this is that one shouldn’t be a pushover when it comes to protecting your own property. Really the last thing that any airline wants is for an irrate customer making a huge scene right before entering the aircraft.
@Jason
Well, it is only for a week before I am back in the UK.
Oh yeah, that must have hurt. I can only imagine. But that was it what originally worried me the most: careless cargo staff treating my guitar recklessly. So I ended up leaving it in London. I still have an electric guitar in Vienna so I can still practice and play a bit - but I love my acoustic one!
I think you made a good point. Unless you have a really massive case (like top-notch celeb musicians), the guitar should either go with you in the cabin or stay at home.
Flying from London home to Sweden about 2 weeks back I brought 2 guitars.
We didn’t have any choice as we weren’t coming back (any time soon anyway) but BA was perfectly fine with it.
We just brought the guitars with us on the plane and they stuck it in some compartment next to the cockpit.
Very friendly at BA I must say, didn’t even have to pay for the extra baggage we had (would’ve cost £30 per bag and we had 4 extra (would’ve cost more than the actual tickets had we had to pay)).