Checking a steel guitar in a roadcase will put that nice 80 dollar excess baggage charge on there if it exceeds 50lbs. on some, 40 lbs on others..Southwest at least allows 70lbs before they charge you (45 dollars ).... not to mention actual size regulations. Bringing a smaller instrument ONTO the plane as a carry-on item in a gig bag or hardshell case is always an experience.... They love me, they love me not.....who will be the lucky one here today...

You don't have to be doing union jobs to help out here, this is to help ALL musicians hopefully.
Please email Ginger Shults at the union here in Austin (reference my name). The address is: G.Shults@worldnet.att. with ANY recent experiences you have had regarding checking inbaggage, carry-on items, etc. What airline,problems that occured, money charged, any exceptions made, etc. PLEASE KEEP INFO TO THE POINT AND CLEAR.

Thank you so much to give time to do this, I feel it's a very important issue. The more info. Ginger has, the better she will be able to sort it out and hand it on to the powers that be.

Thanks for tackling this issue. The current situation of constantly being at the whims of the board gate agent is ridiculous.

Also, many musicians cannot afford a dedicated airline-proof case for their instrument (i.e., Calton $500+). Placing these instruments in baggage is nerve racking, to say the least.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 12 January 2003 at 06:24 AM.]

The problems have become much worse in the wake of September 11, and here again it's the lack of consistency that's most galling. When I went to the Sacred Steel convention in Orlando last spring, I took along my Fender Deluxe 8, wrapping the case in a double layer of cardboard as a precaution against what I supposed would be a considerable chance of not being able to take it aboard as a carry-on.
Heading south was no problem, but on my way home I encountered a young soldier at the security desk who seemed determined that this mysterious object on the x-ray screen would somehow jeopardize the safety of Flight 110. He was particularly interested to know what sort of instrument it was (are some kinds a greater security risk than others?!), and once I'd managed to convince him that it was indeed a guitar, he became preoccupied with the presence of what he was convinced was some sort of battery in the case (i.e. the steel, in a screw-top plastic tube). Despite my best attempts at pantomime, I was unable to convince him that it was merely the bar with which the instrument was played. So, I offered to open the case and let him see for himself. That didn't seem like an insulting suggestion to me, but you'd think it was by the way he reacted: he behaved as if to look into a lowly piece of baggage was beneath his dignity, and waved me through without a single word. Argh! Thanks for taking on this issue, Cindy, and good luck.

[This message was edited by Ian McLatchie on 12 January 2003 at 12:04 PM.]

Flying out of Honolulu has never been a problem though. In fact, on my most recent trip, the X-ray operator who heaved my D-8 Stringmaster onto the conveyor belt sighed with rolling eyeballs: "Ugh, for cryin' out loud, lemme guess... steel? ...with legs?"

quote:

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"Ugh, for cryin' out loud, lemme guess... steel? ...with legs?"

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It worked for me when I flew with my upright bass.