How to carry a guitar on a plane | The best airlines & latest rules
We fly with our instruments. We do it a lot. We've even written a song about it! And it's a stressfest every single time. Inconsistent regulations, airline staff who don't know the rules, overcrowded overhead bins, and grumpy people make it even harder. The world is conspiring against us getting our guitar to our destination in one piece. Fortunately, we have a system down pretty well now. Here's our strategy, and we hope it helps!
1. Decide whether to check or carry on
If you have a flight-rated guitar case, you may want to check your guitar. We used to do this with a VERY NICE CASE designed SPECIFICALLY FOR FLYING. If you don't have one of those, I recommend not trusting your guitar with baggage handlers. It is asking a lot to have them treat your guitar with special care, there is no recourse if it gets broken, and most standard guitar cases aren't impact- or water-proof. (You'll note this whole post lives, like we do, in a world of over-preparation and worst-case-scenarios).We carry on our guitar and ukulele on every flight. My guitar is usually in a gig bag or (glorified) cardboard case—something cheap, simple, SMALL and LIGHT. A big, heavy case is a scary thing to put in the overhead bin, and it will be way easier for them to take it away.
2. Pack carefully
It's not a bad idea to throw some bubble wrap, socks or other padding around your guitar in its case, and many people recommend loosening your strings to avoid cracking at the high altitude. The most important thing to remember in flying while carrying on your guitar, however, is to make sure that it is your ONLY overhead carry-on. It is much easier for an airline to take your bags away if you look like you're trying to bring two things to put in the overhead bin. Bring a small backpack or a purse for under the seat, but keep that guitar as your only big carry-on.
3. Know the rules
Here are the rules you need to know to keep your guitar from being checked (and broken). Most airline and TSA staff do not know these rules, so it is helpful to have them printed out or bookmarked on your phone for reference. Be nice about it.
- The "FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 " (full text): Airlines have to let you bring your (reasonably-sized) instrument on the plane if there is space in the overhead bins at the time you are boarding. This doesn't help you if you are the last person on the plane, so keep reading for tips on getting on the plane early.
- TSA Rules for instruments at screening checkpoints (full text): We have never had a problem at a TSA checkpoint with the guitar, but if you do, these would be the rules to flash. The rules say that you can bring an instrument through the checkpoint even if it's bigger than a standard carry-on.
4. Buy the right flights: the best airlines for carrying on a guitar
Even with those helpful FAA regulations, you need to get on the plane while there is still room in the overhead bins for your guitar. This is tricky. Many airlines now charge for checked bags, so people are trying to save money by carrying everything on, and that fills up the plane pretty quick. Here are the tricks we figured out.
- Three general tips: (1) Try to fly direct if you can, avoiding tight connections that will make you late to board. (2) Avoid "puddle jumpers"—tiny planes for short flights that are too small to fit guitars in their tiny overhead bins. (3) If you can, reserve a window seat near the back of the plane; this usually means you will be in an earlier boarding group.
- Southwest Airlines: There are two good things about Southwest. One is that they check bags for free, so there are fewer bags being carried on the plane than on, say, United or Delta. The other bonus is that they have a service called "Early Bird Check-In," which is our new best friend. This check-in gets you into the first group of people boarding the plane, so there will almost certainly be overhead bin space when you get on. It costs close to $13.50 per flight (it's an option at the end of the flight-purchasing process), and we've been told you can frequently upgrade at the gate to this service for $40. That may seem like a lot, but repairing your guitar costs more.
- Jet Blue: We LOVE Jet Blue because they are USUALLY nice and friendly (again, sorry United and Delta, but the number of people who immediately enter panic mode when we have instruments is almost 100%.) If you want assurance of early boarding, their early-boarding service is called "Even More Speed" and comes with the purchase of a "Even More Space" fancier seat. That service is sort of expensive, but with JetBlue getting a seat near the back of the plane is usually all you need to get on early.
- Frontier Airlines: Frontier is a "budget" airline and it is a little scary for that reason: we've heard nightmare stories about flights being cancelled and never rescheduled and bags being lost forever. However, Frontier does have one nice thing going for it: They charge for carry-on bags. This SEEMS like a bad thing, unless you are carrying on a guitar. It means that most people don't have carry-on bags, so those bins are going to be empty no matter when you board. Pay the $25 fee (the flight is cheap, so it's not much when you account for that) and your guitar gets a whole bin to itself. NOTE: We have only flown Frontier about 4 times, and every time we did we had a HUGE panic about checking our oversize bags. It's great for carrying things on, but I recommend Frontier only if you do not need to check anything important.
- Virgin America: It's been a while since we've flown Virgin, but our experience in general is this: they do not give a CRAP. They are the "cool" airline for "cool" people, so OF COURSE they want to help you get your guitar on the plane. Of course, that also means that most of them don't know the rules and they can delay you by being confused—but it's usually ok.
- United/American/Delta/Alaska: We fly these airlines when we need to, but we try to avoid it. Unless you somehow get to board the plane in the first half of people (maybe bring a baby so you can board early?), they are going to try to take your bag away, and you will have to use your WINNING PERSONALITY to get your way (keep reading, we have tips on this).
5. Be confident and friendly
I like to avoid talking to gate attendants about the guitar as much as possible. The more problems they sense, the more they will try to solve by taking your guitar away from you. When it's time to board, walk up to the ticket-taker as if your guitar is the definition of a standard-size suitcase, and nothing could be less of a big deal. If they say "there may not be enough space," say, "it'll be ok, I need to bring it on the plane"—in a FRIENDLY, not dismissive way.Some tricks:
- Be at the gate when it's time to board and get on as soon as your group is called. One open bin is all you need.
- Put your guitar in the FIRST open overhead bin you see when you get on the plane. It doesn't need to be near your seat.
- Close the bin once you put your guitar in there to signify "full" so no one tries to move it. We have a ukulele and guitar (one for each of us), which nestle together nicely to fill the space of two regular rollerbags—so that bin is FULL when we are done with it. This is a nice trick, if you travel with two people we highly recommend it.
- If the overhead bins are full, super nicely ask a flight attendant if there is a closet where you can store your guitar. Do this in a nice way, not an entitled way. Closets usually exist on airplanes with first class cabins, and you will usually see it as you are boarding.
- If the gate-checker puts a tag on your bag and tells you to drop it at the end of the jetway, remove that tag as soon as you are out of that person's sight and bring the bag on the plane anyway. Give yourself 3 passive aggression points.
- If you are in a late boarding group, try instead to board early with "people who need extra assistance" and say that you don't want to hit people with your guitar.
- Don't panic. We have been the last people to get on a full flight and still found room for our guitar.
- Be nice. If you start a conflict, you create a situation in which both sides want to win. Instead, create a situation in which you BOTH win by your guitar getting on the plane. We were once in line behind a woman with a huge suitcase who was yelling at the gate attendant for trying to gate-check her bag. The attendant asked that person to hold because she was holding up the line, scanned our tickets and let us board the plane with no comment about the instruments. The woman made a snarky comment about "how come SHE gets to bring that GIANT VIOLIN" or whatever, but the attendant was on our side because we were calm and smiling. (The other woman had to check her bag, take that!)
That's it, folks! Please leave additional comments and tips in the section below. Remember, if all else fails, you can usually borrow a guitar when you arrive. Happy travels!
The Doubleclicks are made possible by support from their listeners. If you’d like to support, please consider buying an album or some songs for the price of “pay-what-you-want” on Bandcamp.