Flying with bass?

[osmarokuma]

Im sure this has been asked before but I searched flying, airplane, traveling and airline and i couldn't find anything.

Well I'm used to traveling with a low end bass but I now play a high end bass and I want to make sure it is kept safe throughout the flight.

Im going to fly through American Airlines and I heard that some people have luck in getting their basses as a carry on with a gig bag. I have also heard some people taking their bass with a gig bag to the airport and then have their basses thrown in as checked baggage .

What are the official rules (if there are any) about getting a bass in as carry on? or does this depend on what the crew thinks is right or wrong?

I have a hard case with my bass but I much rather have it in a gig bag and then taking it with me as carry on.

[tsverrir]

You should check with the airline. Usually I've had no problem with taking my bass as a carry-on. Once though, on my way to China, I had to put it with the check-in luggage in the gig bag. Although the bass came out alright, it was no fun, so check with the airline.

[Bardley]

I took a flight with one of my basses in July with Delta. I put it in a hardshell TSA case from Gator. I simply told them it was a guitar and it was carry-on but I was willing to check it at the gate. Only a couple people looked concerned. I was very nice and just said I understand this may not fit but I would love to gate check it if possible and they were cool with that. Get to the gate early and let them tag it. That way you can keep it with you all the way to the plane and grab it on your way off. It can be more of a hassle in security screening but they were pretty cool about everything.
You will probably get asked if it is a rifle a lot since the cases look similar.

[251]

Go to Search in the TB Menu Bar, Google search the forums for 'Flying with Bass' to find this link, start reading;
flying with a bass - Google Search

These are the good answers to your question. The TBers that posted them aren't likely to respond to your question. They won't believe you could not find this link with the search functions provided here. +1 from me. 8-)

[drdunwoody]

Different airlines have different policies. Check with the airline. I have a Steinberger type that I use for my travel bass and it easily comes as a carry on.

[Jinro]

Don't ever fly SouthWest with a bass. I did it, and was lucky the flight wasn't full so I had enough room (barely) to put it in the overhead bin. The guy taking tickets said "do me a favor, and talk to the flight attendant about putting your guitar in the closet at the front of the plane" (which I'm sure you can do on most other airlines). So I relayed the message to the flight attendant, who then proceeded to snap at me like the grumpy, condescending, post-menopausal hag that she was, saying "we don't have closets" and "I don't know what you're talking about".

I have never, once, EVER had a nice (acting or looking) flight attendant with ANY airline.

[Freddels]

Originally Posted by Jinro

I have never, once, EVER had a nice (acting or looking) flight attendant with ANY airline.

Then you have never flown Singapore Airlines.

[Sparkdog]

Your best bet is to use a high quality bullet-proof (don't repeat that term at the airport!) gig bag like a Mono or Reunion Blues Continental, explain that it contains a valuable musical instrument, and ask politely to gate check it or hang it in the airplane closet like a garment bag.

No matter how rude or surly the airline staff may be you need to remain calm and courteous at all times, or you WILL BE screwed. You really want to avoid checking your bass as baggage if you possibly can.

You can check the baggage policy for airlines on their websites, but the bottom line is that it's entirely up to the crew as to whether you will be allowed to carry your instrument onboard, or it gets chucked into the belly of the plane by the baggage monkeys (if you are a jerk about it, guess which option the crew will choose)

It's a crap shoot really, and if it goes in as checked baggage I think a really good gig bag is about as effective as a hard case, since there really is no such thing as an indestructible case. Schlepping a 50 pound Anvil road case through the airport is no fun, and it still won't survive an encounter with a 9000 pound forklift.

Don't ask me how I know!

[bassnat]

If you are leaving the country an additional concern is having your bass confiscated because you can not prove the wood heritage (not from protected forest). This is what shut the Gibson factory down for a day. It is a real concern.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by bassnat

If you are leaving the country an additional concern is having your bass confiscated because you can not prove the wood heritage (not from protected forest). This is what shut the Gibson factory down for a day. It is a real concern.

Not really. I've yet to have that happen in 13 years of flying internationally.

I carry mine in an SKB Bass Safe. The locks suck, but I wrap the handles together and it stays together and I've yet to get so much as a scratch on any bass I've carried in it in the last 5 years. I used to carry it on, but I stopped once the airlines started giving me crap over it. Sometimes they're cool, sometimes they're very uncool.

[Eric Moesle]

Jimmy speaks the gospel truth.

I flew the same route every month for 3 years, same airline. It was always a crapshoot whether they would let me carry it on or made me check it with the luggage.

No amount of "advance confirmation" assurances will remedy this. You are at the mercy of the flight crew assigned that particular day.

Either:

1) Get an SKB Bass Safe

2) Get a heavy ATA road case

3) Put your gigbagged bass in an SKB Staff Golf Club case. You can sometimes find them used for $40 or so.

[trevcda]

I've always been prepared to but never had to gate check my bass. I think the key is to check in online as early as possible, allowing you to get a low numbered boarding pass. First on should have no problem getting a case into the overheads. If you aren't/can't be near a computer when the early check in starts, pay the extra cash to have it done automatically, if it's available. I use a smaller TKL case that I know will fit into most overhead compartments.

[Bredian]

Originally Posted by Bardley

You will probably get asked if it is a rifle a lot since the cases look similar.

Went to pick up a friend at the airport last month around the 9th of September. Needing to clear out a seat, I pulled into the airport fuel station, pulling into a "no parking" area about 50' behind a sheriff patrol car. Got out of my Suburban, pulled the gig bag containing my bass from the front seat and put in into the rear. Came around the back of the car to see a very tense officer looking at me with big eyes telling me to GTFO!

Note to self, basses in gig bags can be mistaken for rocket launchers, especially 2 days before 9-11.

[JimmyM]

Ya, every single time I bring my bass in the Bass Safe, I get asked if it's a gun. It's to the point that when I put it up on the scale, I always volunteer, "It's a bass guitar, not a gun."

[anonymous122511]

Flying home from a boat gig once I got a vintage Baby Bass on as carry-on in Miami but during a plane change in Denver was told it would have to go cargo and no amount of pleading fizzed on the bastards. It came out unscathed but it was a nerve-wracking flight from Denver to Vancouver wondering if my bass was gonna make it. Since then it's been ATA cases for flying for me. But seeing the sh-tkicking instruments can take in an overhead compartment on a full plane makes me think it might be safer in cargo anyway.

[bassnat]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Not really. I've yet to have that happen in 13 years of flying internationally.

I carry mine in an SKB Bass Safe. The locks suck, but I wrap the handles together and it stays together and I've yet to get so much as a scratch on any bass I've carried in it in the last 5 years. I used to carry it on, but I stopped once the airlines started giving me crap over it. Sometimes they're cool, sometimes they're very uncool.

Sadly, this is new. Why Gibson Guitar Was Raided By The Justice Department : The Record : NPR

A partial quote:

He's even warned clients to be wary of traveling abroad with old guitars, because the law says owners can be asked to account for every wooden part of their guitars when re-entering the U.S. The law also covers the trade in vintage instruments.

[JimmyM]

Fortunately, customs agents are looking way more for bombs and drugs than protected woods on guitars. I know a lot of folks who travel internationally and not one of them gets questioned about the wood on their instruments.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Fortunately, customs agents are looking way more for bombs and drugs than protected woods on guitars. I know a lot of folks who travel internationally and not one of them gets questioned about the wood on their instruments.

That could change at any second though when they realize more people are killed due to wood poaching than in terrorist attacks. One doesn't like to feel all those billions being spent on security are just a sham.

[bass12]

Originally Posted by bassnat

Sadly, this is new. Why Gibson Guitar Was Raided By The Justice Department : The Record : NPR

A partial quote:

He's even warned clients to be wary of traveling abroad with old guitars, because the law says owners can be asked to account for every wooden part of their guitars when re-entering the U.S. The law also covers the trade in vintage instruments.

I'm still waiting for them to raid a McDonald's...

[Pacman]

Originally Posted by Freddels

Then you have never flown Singapore Airlines.

or JAL