Our free “Tips for Flying with Your Guitar” guide gives practical advice on how to travel safely with your instrument. In it we talk about some legislation that simplified and standardized the rules allowing musicians to take their instruments on board an airline as carry-on luggage, so long as they meet certain criteria.
According to this post on Hypebot, The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a new rule on that legislation, making it official and final across the country:
The rule states musicians must store smaller instruments in an approved location either overhead or under the seat, but that even oddly shaped instruments such as a violin or guitar will be recognized as approved carry-ons and will be allotted space on a first come, first serve basis.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx says, “This final rule implements the statute, and it will go a long way towards keeping instruments safe when they fly – from allowing them in the cabin if there’s space for safe stowage, to letting passengers buy a seat for certain large instruments.”
The Department of Transportation has created a webpage giving tips on how to keep your instrument safe during air travel, including:
* Whenever possible, choose a nonstop flight before a direct flight, and a direct flight before a connection.
* Consider flying at an off-peak time, as there are fewer passengers and less competition for space in the overhead bins.
* If you have to fly on peak travel days, fly during the middle of the day or late in the evening.
* Check each airline’s website for info on their checked-baggage and carry-on allowances (size, weight, number of bags, etc.)
For more tips on selecting flights, preparing for travel, and packing your instrument to make sure it stays safe, download our FREE guide:
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Chris Robley is an acclaimed singer-songwriter and award-winning poet from Maine.
His Beatlesque indie-pop and milltown Americana songs have been praised by The Associated Press, No Depression, KCRW, The LA Times, Boston Globe, NPR, American Songwriter, and others.
His poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner, The Poetry Review, and more.
Robley has received a Maine Literary Award in Poetry, Boulevard’s Emerging Writers Prize for Poetry, and in 2016 was selected by former US-poet laureate Robert Pinsky as a finalist for the Dorset Prize.