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Has anyone here successfully flown with a large archtop like a Gibson L5 and they allowed it on the plane. They seem to have a hand check option free but I don't trust anything. Clearly it is too big for any bin and the other option is buying a ticket for it do they discount?
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05-31-2026 06:29 PM
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I've flown with an archtop recently. I paid for a seat for the guitar to be safe. There was no discount.
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Can I fit a 335 in the overhead?
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This is a super 400 wouldn’t fit in anything
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It used to be that the FAA/TSA had a policy that musicians could bring their instruments into the aircraft cabin rather than having to check them, and maybe that is still the official policy, but that was at the discretion of the flight staff. Which basically meant that it was a crapshoot. It used to be there was a closet or something that they could stick an instrument in, but I'm sure those have been taken out to put in another row of seats to maximize revenue. Obviously things have to be contained on an aircraft so they don't start flying around the cabin in the case of severe turbulence, so I suppose there is a point to that loophole in the policy.
I remember reading an interview with Jim Hall in which he said that he "bought a super case for the thing and I check it through. I try not to be too attached to it. It's just a piece of wood, not my wife or my dog." This would've been when he was playing a Sadowsky. I think many of us on this forum would not be able to maintain a level of detachment where we weren't worrying about the guitar for every minute of the flight. I certainly wouldn't.
I should note that I have not flown since 2003 (at 6'3" and 215#, it's hard to find an aircraft seat I can sit in non-painfully without flying business class or in an exit row). Things have changed in those 23 years and not for the better, from everything I've heard. If I can't drive or ride my bike or take a train to get there, I don't need to go. Although my wife is retiring this summer and I'm pretty sure she's got plans to take us to Denmark and Ireland; I've heard rumors that driving there from Minnesota is inconvenient.
Years ago if you asked MapQuest for directions on driving to Paris from here it would give you directions to the US East Coast, tell you to swim 3000 miles and then give directions from Dunkirk or somewhere on the French coast to Paris by car.
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I had a gig in Hawaii that paid well enough for me to buy a First Class round trip ticket from San Francisco. They had a closet in the First Class Compartment on both flights and I was able to stash my guitar in those closets.
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Is this for regular touring or more of a one time transport situation? It's certainly possible to talk your way into a first class/crew closet, but it's good to have the thing in a Calton or Hoffee for when your luck runs out.
Sometimes shipping to have it meet you there is an option, if the logistics allow. I've had good luck shipping from a luthier/music store to a luthier/shop on the other end. The more you tour, the more folks you know in different locales willing to lend a hand.
I took a few flights in Japan where the airlines had dedicated shipping crates for the guitar case. It would be impractical to have to haul your own crate around from gig to gig, but boxing it up to check it for a one way flight could be an option
I remember that Jim Hall article, it was well before his Sadowsky. I'm sure his D'Aquisto was insured, and Jimmy would have probably nudged him up the waitlist if he needed a replacement..
Best wishes for your music!
PK
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I'll take a travel guitar with me-Frameworks.
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I have flown with a Heritage Super Eagle many times. It fits in the overhead except for small puddle jumper planes. That’s roughly the same size as a Super 400. I use a high quality gig bag rather than the hard case.
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I brought two archtops home from across the country in the last 2 years. Both were in large hard cases (one an Ameritage that’s the thickest, heaviest case I ever saw, the other a TKL). I put each in the overhead bins, sticking through the opening between them in the divider so that a guitar took up all of one and most of the next one. I brought a backpack with me that contained several pieces of foam rubber and a few towels to protect it where it rested on the divider and (along with the backpack) to secure it against shifting around.
The ground crews let me on without issue. But the first flight crew were nasty about it, eg “You’re taking up space I need. I wouldn’t have let you on with it”. According to the flight attendants, there were no closets on the plane in which I could have put it. I just pointed out that it’s AA’s written policy that we can bring our instruments aboard if they fit in the overhead bins, and mine did. They left me alone. There was enough room in the bins for an S400 in its OHSC.
If they hadn’t let me bring it on, I would have gate-checked the Eastman in its Ameritage. But the Benedetto would have been a problem because that case wasn’t up to safe transit in the baggage hold. I was worried about this, but all went well.
You may remember my thread about triggering the explosives trace detection system with the nitro finish on the Benedetto. This is not uncommon, and an S400 that’s lived in its case since new has probably left enough trace residue to do the same thing when TSA swabs the case lining. There’s nothing you can do about this if it happens. But TSA was good about it, and they let me through.
One question I’ve always had is how you secure a guitar case in its own seat. I took flights that are never full, and I had a row of 3 to myself both ways both times. But they wouldn’t let me lay the case across the empty seats and strap it in with the seat belts.
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I pack mine as if for shipping - in its case, in a cardboard shipping box - and check it.
There is still some risk with this of course, but probably not more than shipping with UPS or FedEx, probably less….
I would never just check in a case, even a Carlton or such - why not add the extra protection (camouflage!) of a shipping box - and never try to carry-on - if you have to then check it, too risky.
Even when flying 1st class these days you might not get it boarded with you …Used to be different in the golden age of flying but not in our current times….
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I once flew to Japan with a 175 style archtop I used to have and checked it in in a Calton case. As soon as I collected it at Narita airport I opened the case and the guitar was in perfect conditions (the case had a couple of light scrathes on it and that was all).
So I would trust a Calton case but I would not do it again because, solid as they are, they're also very heavy (for me at least) and rough on hands, arms and shoulders, if you have to carry them for more than 10 minutes or so (also it was a big case and I'm not tall, so I often had to lift it). The archtop I have now has a Hiscox case which protects the guitar very well though I've heard stories of Hiscox cases that have perfectly protected guitars but were irrepairably damaged (and they're not exactly cheap cases, if you have to replace one).
Perhaps a Calton case for the flight and a soft gigbag in the suitcase could be a solution... ?Last edited by frabarmus; 06-01-2026 at 09:35 AM.
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I still can’t figure out how you secure the instrument in its seat.
Originally Posted by spencer096
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Bruce Forman told me that he uses a Calton case and he just checks it like normal luggage and that he never has had a problem.
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At this point I am going to give up on the idea, but it is telling in that no definitive answer. The only time I ever flew with a guitar was back 30 years ago Bill Hollenbeck and I flew to the 5 Towns Guitar Show on Long Island. He brought 2 guitars one for me and one for him, they got regular seats on the plane ticketed.
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2 years ago I flew from Seattle to Denver with a Gibson L4CES and was able to store it in the overhead bin. It was an Alaska Airlines B737. I did pay for a seat upgrade so I was one of the first to board.
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So how did you secure them in the seats? The seat belt seems a bit low to hold a case upright, even run through the handle and around the waist. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
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Also, would the seat be guaranteed to be next to you? Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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Say it's your baby, then when you get there if they give you trouble just say "what? it is my baby" Originally Posted by garybaldy
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I just put the seat belt around the guitar. No issues whatsoever. Booking a seat for a guitar is a bit of a pain in the ass, but the peace of mind for me was well worth it. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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If you’re flying to go look at a potential purchase, why not negotiate shipping with the dealer if you decide you want it? That way, the shipping insurance and financial risk stays with the dealer, and you can relax on the flight back. Originally Posted by deacon Mark
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deacon Mark would break out in hives if he had to play one of those. Originally Posted by kris
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They have seatbelt extenders to go around the case. Depending on the size of the instrument, you might have to place it neck down so the body of the instrument is taking up the seat space. Back in the olden days, I flew with an upright bass and I had to buy a seat for it. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
Jocelyn Gould uses a Calton case for her Benedetto and she checks it. She says she's never had any problem with it.
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Peter Bernstein said he puts the Zeidler in the overhead in a gig bag! I asked why not checked in a flight case. "Because I need to know it'll be there at gig time."
I was kinda shocked. I mean... one of a kind guitar. Pete said he thought the soft case garnered more respect. My buddy told him he must fly on different airlines than him.
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