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February 2012
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Have many of you had experiences boarding your Ovation case as luggage for plane travel?
I want to use my Ovation nylon string for a few shows across the country, my Ovation case is approximately from 1995 |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6995
Location: Jet City | I don't like flying with a guitar, but if you must, the Ovation case is the best option. Good luck and pray for nice baggage handlers. Also, the latches can sometimes get caught on things in transit and come undone, so I put a piece of shipping tape over them. Don't lock it, or TSA might damage it trying to open it up for inspection. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Always go for the cabin first.
Be firm but polite at the check-in and with the gate staff, but the flight crew always has the last word. Tell them the guitar is valuable and special to you and you want to ask if it can be stowed in the cabin. Be very polite and abide by whatever the flight crew says.
It used to be easier back in the day before they charged for luggage, now everyone tries to carry everything on to avoid the charges. I've had flight crews actually empty the first class closet and repack it to make room for my guitar.
Even if they don't have room, at least gate checking will make it one of the last things to go in the baggage compartment.
It's also a good idea to detune your strings a bit (especially a nylon) just in case it does have to go in cargo. |
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May 2006
Posts: 4232
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | I would be a good idea to insure your instrument before you fly. Clarion Insurance has served me well for a while now. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4065
Location: Utah | Check the airlines' instrument policy on their websites. Print it out and bring it with you in case you run into an agent who tries to bully you into checking it.
Detune it slightly, and take a few pictures of it before you go to the airport. Just in case. Some airlines will not pay damages if an instrument was tuned to concert pitch. Yeah, Ovation ships guitars by the hundreds (thousands?) tuned to pitch without problems, but you want to be able to get your claim through if needed.
Take it to the gate and as already said, be a bit insistent on seeing if it will fit on board. An airbus or 737 or larger aircraft it will fit in the overhead just fine. Or in a closet. On smaller jets it may or may not fit, and if the flight is at all full there won't be room overhead. Some regional jets have a closet. Be polite and pleasant and ask the flight attendant for assistance.
If necessary, gate check it. It will be the with the last bunch of stuff that goes in cargo, and it will be returned to you in the jetway at your destination. At least you will have the least amount of handling if it gets gate checked. Don't let the gate agent bully you into leaving it for gate check until you've asked the flight attendant. |
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Joined:
February 2012
Posts: 2
| Thank you for the replies so far.
IF I have to check it as baggage, do you feel the Ovation case is sufficiently safe? |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Yes. Short of a steel case. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | You could also get yourself a Calton or similar (I think Al has a pretty good alternative for less).
Caltons were the industry standard for guitar protection but they will cost you between 600-750 for a used one and maybe 700-850 for a new one. |
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July 2005
Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | +1 on waskel and fly sig....btw - one of them is a pilot...it can be done in the cabin...or worst case is the gate check. I've never had an issue even when checked...and that means hundreds of trips for one real nice guitar...Ovation caes work just fine. |
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November 2011
Posts: 205
Location: seattle, wa | It flys through the air fine, it's the landing that will get you...I'm sorry, couldn't resist |
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February 2012
Posts: 58
Location: Triangle area, NC | lol. Well said! |
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Joined:
February 2009
Posts: 194
Location: Huntington Beach | I have flown my 1617 in the stock '77 case many times - it will get dinged - it will get scratched - it will get warped - the handle will get broken - the metal feet will get driven in to the plastic - IT WILL PROTECT THE GUITAR |
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December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | I was going to say what John Bange already said. Flying is easy, it's the landings that mean the most. |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 3619
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | I've flown a LOT with my guitar in the past few years, and my advice... DON'T CHECK IT! Take it with you to the gate and (as Waskel said) see if they have room in a closet. 90% of the time I have had to GATE CHECK my guitar, and that way I get to see it go on, and immediately when I deplane. At one time I purchased the Ovation soft case, thinking it may fit better in the overhead, but it didn't. The Ovation hard case is very good, and it hasn't let me down yet. But don't waste your money checking it in as baggage. You'll have more people handling it, and have a greater chance of it getting damaged or for that matter, dissappearing. |
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Ovation case safe for flying?
