I have a gig coming up where I will be traveling. I usually do this a couple times a year and borrow a bass when I get out there, but I would really like to bring my Alembic. Can anyone recommend the best way to travel on a plane with an instrument? Due to size I assume it will have to be checked. Thanks.
Is it stupid-expensive or really inconvenient to use a flight case? Failing that option, a heavy gig bag if they'll allow it as a carry-on. That short-scale shouldn't take up much room.
I wouldn't check it unless you had a solid road case. And carrying it on is risky because if they refuse it then you're stuck and it gets thrown into the hold with all the baby carriages. I was once allowed to book an extra seat and strap in my bass-in-gig-bag. The ticket name read "Cabin Baggage". :o He turned down the meal service but drank quite a bit on the flight. ;)
Jimmy J
Thanks for the feedback. I guess I could ship it out there, but that would be costly and there is still the potential for damage. I am looking into a Hoffe case, but I might just end up leaving it home and borrowing a bass out there.
My experience in 2023, I was on tour in the USA travelling from the UK for about 5 weeks with a number of flights during that time. I took my Orion bass in a Hiscox case. I took it to the factory before the tour and they fitted extra padding to keep the bass from moving in the case. I think maybe once or twice I was allowed to bring it on the plane and it went in the crew's lockers but other than that I was able to hand it over at the plane door and it went with the baby prams and buggies but it survived all the trips with no damage to the bass an a minor ding on the case.
On the contrary, on my second USA tour back in the early 90's, i had a flight case made which was fine on the way out, but on the way back, the TSA people decided top smash off the hinges instead of opening the lock then put the broken case and guitar into a large plastic bag. It arrived back with multiple holes along the edges of the guitar where the case hinge bolts hit the guitar in transit. They were kind enough to put a note in the bag to say they had opened it. I was unable to get any redress from the airline. On recent trips by plane I haven't locked the case.
Thanks, Jazzyvee.
The last time I traveled with a case, TSA broke the latches off, and the latches did not even have locks!!
Unfortunately, I think I will just have to leave it home, I would hate for it to get damaged.
25 years ago I had a proper flight case. The single biggest drawback of using it was the extra cost per flight due to it being both over sized and over weight. I seem to recall on US domestic flights, it was an extra $150 each way.
For at least 20 years now, I use my gig bag (Mono M80). Sometimes they have room in the cabin, sometimes they don't. I always gate check because I want to try and bring it into the passenger compartment. The airlines hand me my bass at the plane door when we arrive at the destination.
When I fly with a guitar, I always bring a copy of the FAA rules allowing instruments on board to educate airline employees. Many are unfamiliar with the rule and just assume instruments aren't allowed on board. I have a Roadrunner foam case that is quite protective while also being light and smaller than a standard wood rectangle type case. At minimum, I carry it to the plane door and gate check it if I can't get it in the cabin. But the last few years I've always been able to get it in the cabin in an overhead or the crew closet.
Bill, tgo
Years ago I used to take photo gear on flights as a commercial photographer. I shipped equipment in Anvil cases with external locks as baggage. My advice then was make sure your gear can survive at least a 15 foot drop, because inquiring minds might want to know what's inside. Hopefully those days have changed?
Quote from: gtrguy on July 23, 2026, 04:09:28 PMYears ago I used to take photo gear on flights as a commercial photographer. I shipped equipment in Anvil cases with external locks as baggage. My advice then was make sure your gear can survive at least a 15 foot drop, because inquiring minds might want to know what's inside. Hopefully those days have changed?
I watched a baggage handler take my flight case off the luggage train and throw it toward the bottom of the ramp. It flew about 10' before hitting the ground and sliding the next 10-15'. Nothing happened to bass or case. But I thought quite different about the entire situation after witnessing that.
Based on all of that feedback, my bass is not going near any airplane 😊
It's sad indictment of airlines that, even with decades of improvements in aircraft design and the experiences of millions of flights made by musicians and other creatives with the instruments of their trade, that getting these instruments from A to B safely, is still seemingly a gamble.