So, gimmie your opinions, you 'chats' of M+N.
If you were flying interstate and wanted to take a few guitars, a number of pedals and some merch with you, as well as all the regular luggage (carry on and clothing, etc) who would you rather fly with and why? And what would you do to ensure nothing goes wrong with your gear?
Just the one person flying?
they're all as shit as each other for handling your stuff man
i have seen - a dude lifting guitars off the conveyer belt - even though all he had to do was shove them onto the next belt - physically pick them up and drop them
just to be a cunt
but having said that, my guitars arrive ok
ohhh another thing - the ''loosen your strings before flying'' is a fallacy - there is no need, its better to leave them at concert pitch
Yeah, just the one.
I try and always fly with virgin or qantas. Jetstar just dont seem to care about your gear as much. Never been on tiger. I always tape up my guitar case and pedal case and anything else of value. And i always tune down the strings to allow for air preassure changes and what not. i've heard stories of necks warping under strain during flights.
tuning down your strings allows for more neck movement and is more likely to warp your neck than leaving it at concert pitch because you have less tension so it doesn't move back into position - with the string tension pulling it back into position - whereas if you tune them down - you lose tension over the neck - so when it warps - it doesn't go back to that position and is more likely to warp
Also Jetstar only have 20kgs as opposed to 23kg with Qantas and Virgin.
i usually stash it in my socks
oh, wait...
Jetstar have an evil excess baggage policy.
Virgin coz it's been cheapest for me - they've always been really good with gear especially if you show up early.
Hard case for gear - the main thing is that it doesn't move around in the case -- if it does pack it full of underwear or what have you. It'll survive any kind of drop and possibly save your gear when the cute little baggage car drives over your stuff.
Doesn't have to be a full on wooden flight case - the cheapest bumper bar plastic ones are fine.
Tape over the latches - prevent them from coming undone or both kinds of ripped off.
If you are over your baggage limit - chuck heavy shit like pedals and PSUs into your carry on - they never weigh that - and attempt to look cool while holding the forty kilos in your carry on bag.
i find virgin to be the fastest with getting your bags at the other end
and in sydney and brissie they have dedicated oversize baggage check ins - so u don't have to wait in a massive fuck off line
I just looked up the excess baggage rates:
Jetstar is $10/kg over 20kg.
Virgin is $10/kg over 23kg.
Qantas is $35 <5kg, $70 5-10kg, $105 10-15kgs.
Bloody hell.
I want this guitar string tension tightening thing to go to fucking mythbusters. Half teh cunts say this the other half say that.
I have always tuned my guitar down a bit because Ben Butcher made me paranoid about it and my guitars are fine.
If you fly with Jetstar and take the guitar apart in a soft case it falls into the carry on requirements so you can always do that.
hahaha i know what you mean king_rat
i just read in matt bruck's column (eddie van halen's tech) years ago that he never tunes down ed's guitar strings for flying because of the reasons i posted above
so i went with his view
I guess unbolting the neck will remove the risk of warp.
No, what do you mean by 'take apart'?
Jetstar is immune to any charm to letting you go over the limit without charge. Never been charged for going over with Virgin. Then again with Virgin you have to deal with the witty banter before takeoff and after landing.
Twice I've done the breaking down and crying like a little girl if they try to charge me for excess - this was for overseas flights so the degradation was financially worth it.
I'd say that tuning changes would have been an issue when aircraft didn't have pressurised cargo holds. Since the days of the DC-3 are long gone, the guitars probably don't suffer the same pressure changes they used to, so it probably doesn't matter that much any more either way.
If you were touring Africa via local airlines you might want to do something about it, though.
How much does dignity cost these days?
SPEEESHHHULL BAGGGAAGGEE!!!
Qantas or Virgin are about as good as each other, but if you need to be at a gig at a certain time, go Qantas - they are a lot more reliable than Virgin in terms of cancelled/moved flights. I've had more than a couple of real freakout moments with Virgin and their damn flexible concept of time. The upshot of Virgin is that if you get booted off an oversold flight or moved back, you'll generally get free stuff.
The other thing is Virgin will really scrutinise your baggage weight on those crowded flights, including carry-on, if they've oversold.
From my experience, you shouldn't encounter any problems and/or extra charges as long as you- 1) Put as much stuff in your carry on luggage as you can, 2) Don't take more than two guitars, 3) Do not fly Jetstar under any circumstances.
just paying this one, good call (and beat me too it)
and they've never fucked up
ian mackaye would disagree
hahahaha gold!
either way my guitars are fine
i never de-tune and i never tape the locks either
but i think it only applies for O/S travel.
domestic flights don't fly at high enough altitude for it to become a problem.
really? cause i just came home from the states with a new guit and had no problems on the us hcg trip
hmmm
where's mythbusters when you need them
Seriously - it's a habit roadies and techs picked up fifty years ago and it's been handed down.
I had friends from the US tour in 2004 who use lots of old 12 strings (Vox, Rickenbacker).
They always detune before flights and the one guitar that got forgotten before the flight to Australia from the US (an 80's Rickenbacker 12 string) was horribly warped when they arrived.
The ghost of Harrison
ARTICLE IN TODAY'S SMH
Apparently Jetstar are folliwing the lead of European discount airlines and now forcing instruments like violins/violas to be placed in cargo, or the purchase of an extra seat to accomodate them in the cabin.
musicians against Ryanair on facebook - interesting read!
fyi petition in the USofA about this. Nicely easily done
anyone taken gear on tiger? going to adelaide and their flights are half the price of virgin...
We flew tiger once and they sent my pedal case to Alice Springs (was going to Sydney). Took them a week to locate it, then they wanted me to drive to Coolangatta to pick it up (Im in Brisbane). After some stern talks with a manger I got it couriered to Brisbane at no cost to me.
Also you need to have at least a 3 hour delay buffer.
I can't believe nobody made a Schapelle joke.
asking you to drive to another city to fix their fuckup? that's utter balls.
guess i'm flying virgin.
if I had time it looks like it would be a nice drive...
Just get one of these:
Counts as carry on luggage according to all airline rules.
Never travelled with gear, does gear count towards your 23kg you can take on Virgin or will they charge me more for that shiz?
Just added to you luggage allowance. Assuming they don't have a clause stating you can only check in one bag.
Always good to slide a few pedals in the backpack.
I meant included in your allowance.
Contact an airline well in advance of flying (4 weeks minimum), advise them you are travelling on business and that the equipment you need to bring for said business instantly puts you over the limit before including any personal luggage. Done correctly ( I mean don't be a pushy dick) you can get your weight limit increased. I have done this whilst travelling with someone else and have had some airlines increase the limit to 45kg each.
if you plan ahead, unaccompanied luggage (internationally) is about $200 / 35kg - takes about 1 week. air france tried to sting us $10/kg ($2000) at the check-in, malaysian air once calmly said..''you have excess baggage. that will be 1800 euros''
coming home is always worse, as they have got you by the nuts.
never had a problem going out of australia though - 5 trips.