Flying in Europe

For those of us who fly around Europe, or who fly between the States and Europe, carrying on a guitar has become near to impossible. Nearly every airline I use to get to gigs in Europe now doesn't allow guitars as carryons unless you buy a seat. To make matters worse, if you check the guitar, it's an extra 50 euros each way on top of the additional bag fee. In other words, if you're already checking one bag, you have to pay the additional bag fee plus 50 euros just because it's a musical instrument. That's 100 euros every time I have to fly to a gig.

Some guitarists, myself included, have started using guitars with bolt-on necks (which I don't much like), and taking the necks off before flying. I bought a Fender Jazz-Tele, which is a Jazzmaster with a Telecaster body.

My Telecaster body fits in my carryon suitcase or my checked in suitcase, if I'm doing that. The Jazzmaster neck goes into a tripod bag, which I carry on. It's also possible to fit the body and neck together into a two-racket tennis bag, but that's risky because it doesn't really fit the carryon tester box.

This is a nasty hassle, but there is an advantage. Since I’m not carrying an obvious gig bag or a flight case no one cleverly asks “Hey, are you going to sing us a song?”