The great news is that if you’re a musician with the power of flight, you won’t need an airline to get from place to place. However, you’ll probably still want to use an airplane to carry your gear because I imagine flying over a continent while carrying a Hartke Transport Series cabinet, a bass over one shoulder, + a gig bag w/cables would be very straining on the arms. But I guess if you had the power to fly and defy the laws of physics you might as well have super strength, too. Unfortunately, for the rest of us musicians, if you want to get from one coast to the other, an airline is the only way to go. (My apologies to anyone owning a flying carpet). Well, according to some new FAA regulations, musicians who board planes must be allowed to carry on their instruments provided they fit in the overhead bin.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I fly with an instrument I’m always in a slight state of anxiety before I board the plane. I don’t want to check my bass case in the luggage, that’s for sure. If you check your instrument as luggage then it gets thrown around by a bunch of guys who don’t give a shit about what’s inside. They’ll toss your instrument into the belly of the plane as if it were a bag of moldy potatoes. Really, the best option is to carry your instrument with you as if it were a carry-on bag. Most of the time–back in “the day”–they would usually let you put it in the coat closet.
For me, when I traveled I would always have a Traveler Bass with me–an Escape MK-II. It’s way smaller than a normal bass and always fits in the overhead compartment. I never had an issue with it. The only time I had an issue was when some big ole fat girl went to put her shit in the overhead bin, saw my travel gig bag in there already, and started saying stuff under her breath. Oh, of course the long haired guy on the plane is the one with the gig bag. Look here you zaftig zilch, I paid for my ticket and I have a right to bring on one carry-on bag as long as it fits in the bin…which it does.
However, one time I was on the road and I bought a brand new Ibanez SR705 5-string bass. It was lovely. I mailed my Traveler Bass back home because it was only a 4-string bass and, seeing as how I was only playing a 6-string at the time, didn’t really have a need for it. So the Ibanez was going to be my practice bass for hotel rooms. For the most part, I had the crew ship my new Ibanez around on the prop truck with the rest of my instruments. It was when I was going back at the end of the tour that I had to fly with it.
I was going to be in a hotel room for about a week as I waited for my gear to get back from Colorado. So I wanted to play bass and practice in my hotel room since I wasn’t going to have a whole lot to do as I waited for the prop truck to get into town.
Well, the first plane out was fine. They let me stash my bass in its hard shell case in the coat closet. Cool. No problem there.
It was going from Dallas to Florida that I ran into an issue.
First of all, whenever you walk through an airport and you’re carrying a hardshell electric bass case, people think you’re actually carrying a gun. I got stopped several times by some officials who politely asked to see what I was carrying.
“Uh, excuse me, sir. Yes, hello. Uh, hi, can I just check to see what’s in that case, please.”
“Sure.”
I also get “randomly” searched when I have a Line 6 Bass pod in my suitcase. “Uh, sir. What is this?”
“It’s an effects pedal and amp modeler.”
Translation: it’s not a bomb, relax.
I also was conveniently “randomly” selected for searches when going through the metal 
detectors. I’m always amazed how I’m “randomly” selected to be searched when I’m carrying a lot of shit with me. Just like my ex-wife was always “randomly” searched and had to pull up her shirt so some officials could examine if she was carrying anything illegal in her bra. Seriously. “Uh, ma’am. Yes, hello. You’ve been randomly selected for a search. Could you please come over here and lift up your shirt.”
“Does this have anything to do with the fact that I have Double E boobs?”
Anyway–back to the story–when I go to get on the plane they tell me that the case would have to be checked at the gate. This isn’t really that big of a deal because when you check a big it doesn’t go down into the belly of the plane like the other luggage and it’s not being handled by those jackasses that treat your luggage like volleyballs. Checking your bag at the gate means it’s just a tad bit safer. And believe me, I’ve seen what happens to guitars when you have the luggage handling guys deal with it. I’ve seen two guitars get extremely fucked up by luggage handlers.
Well, as of March 6, 2015, it’s no longer at the discretion of the airlines. They pretty much have to let you carry your instrument on to the plane as long as it will fit in the overhead compartment. If the space isn’t large enough, the musician is also permitted to purchase a second seat in which to stow the musical companion. There’s just one caveat: airlines don’t have to prioritize your instrument ahead of other carry-on baggage; so if there is no more space, you’ll have to check it at the gate.
To remedy this the DoT suggests that musicians may want to pay the airline fee for priority boarding to ensure that there will be room for their gear.
Check out a breakdown of more info from the TSA here.
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