Another musician's guitar gets smashed by the airlines - INFORMATION FOR YOU ALL

[Bryan316]

Okay, this is a warning to all my fellow musicians, and a lesson, AND good information to take with you, if you ever fly with your instruments.

Glenn, I recommend you bounce this to all your future bands flying in to Atlanta for your glorious festival. It might help them.


First off, the recent incident:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/vintage-gibson-guitar-delta-baggage-leevees-214634001.html

‘Musician’s worst nightmare’: Vintage Gibson guitar mangled by airline baggage handlers

The guitar case for a 1965 Gibson ES-335 is seen stuck in a Delta gate. (Dave Schneider/Facebook)

It was a musician's worst nightmare.

At least that's how Dave Schneider, guitarist and singer for Hanukkah-themed rock band The LeeVees, described it when his guitar—a 1965 Gibson ES-335—got jammed in an elevator by baggage handlers at a Detroit airport.

Schneider was traveling with fellow LeeVees guitarist Adam Gardner from Portland, Maine, to St. Petersburg, Fla., for a gig last month at a conservative temple when their flight was diverted to Rochester, N.Y., due to bad weather, causing them to miss their connection in Philadelphia, Pa. They then drove to Buffalo, N.Y., to hop on a plane destined for Detroit, Mich., where they planned to make a connecting flight to Tampa, Fla.

While boarding in Buffalo, Schneider says he asked Delta staffers not to check in the vintage guitar—which he estimates is worth about $10,000—and allow him to carry it on the plane and place it in an available space, as he did on the flight from Portland.

"I've always carried it on," Schneider, who also tours as the lead singer of the hockey-themed rock group the Zambonis, told Yahoo News. "Never been a problem before."

Schneider says he even showed them a link to a story about Congress passing the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 that made it easier for musicians to fly with their instruments—allowing them to purchase an extra seat on the plane for their fragile instruments.

But he was denied.

[Related: Penguins, flying first class, delight passengers on Delta flight (VIDEO)]

When their plane landed in Detroit, Schneider says, "I had a bad feeling." He whipped out his iPhone and started filming.

As the pair of rockers waited at the gate for their checked guitars, Schneider asked a member of the flight crew to check on his prized ax as it was being removed from the plane. "He did and said it would be fine," Schneider recalled. But as the musicians waited for the luggage to appear, they could hear a screeching noise coming from the elevator.

"It was this crazy sound," Schneider said. "Metal on metal."

The case carrying Schneider's semihollow-body guitar was lodged between the mobile service elevator and a rail on the loading dock, shaking the elevator door. The case even bent a steel beam.

The guitar itself was pinned between two beams and took workers an hour to retrieve it. It sustained damage to the bridge, neck and tail that would cost an estimated $1,980. But so far, Schneider says, Delta has given him the "runaround."

He says the airline offered to cut him a check for $1,000 in Tampa, but Schneider refused it because he didn't know how much the repairs would cost. The online claim forms he filled out after the guitar carnage were blank when Schneider checked on them, and two emails he sent to Delta chief executive Richard Anderson were not returned.

Delta told Yahoo News that the airline "will be reaching out to the customer directly to discuss how we can make this right."

"This instance is certainly not indicative of the high regard we hold for our customers’ property when they travel with us, and for that, we apologize," Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant said in an emailed statement. "We look forward to making a direct and sincere apology to the customer as we work with him to rectify what happened."

This is not the first time touring musicians have clashed with baggage handlers.

In 2009, Dave Carroll, a Canadian singer-songwriter, turned his experience with United Airlines into a music video ("United Breaks Guitars") that went viral and landed him a book deal.

Schneider, though, says he isn't looking for that kind of fame.

"I'm not a greedy dude," he said. "I'm just looking for $1,980."

Here's a link to the article about the new bill:

http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/flying-with-instruments-gets-easier-for-musicians/

Flying With Instruments Gets Easier for Musicians

By RACHEL LEE HARRIS

As if booking a gig wasn’t hard enough, tightened baggage regulations and inconsistent policies among airlines have made it difficult for musicians to figure out how to get their instruments to the next show.

But a new bill passed by Congress this month sets a uniform national policy on the matter. The Federal Aviation Administration will permit any instrument that can be safely stored in the overhead compartment or underneath a seat to be treated as carry-on luggage. It also sets size and weight requirements (150 linear inches and 165 pounds) for instruments checked as baggage, and it allows musicians to purchase an extra seat on a plane for instruments that are either too large for the overhead compartment or too fragile to be stored in the cargo hold.

Ending the confusion over how to travel with instruments has been a legislative priority of the American Federation of Musicians for almost a decade, Ray Hair, the federation’s president, said in a statement. “Musicians can now fly in friendlier skies.”

And most importantly, the actual bill, FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, HR 658, Feb 1st 2012:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-112hrpt381/pdf/CRPT-112hrpt381.pdf

SEC. 403. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘§ 41724. Musical instruments
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) SMALL INSTRUMENTS AS CARRY-ON BAGGAGE.—An air
carrier providing air transportation shall permit a passenger to
carry a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument in the aircraft
cabin, without charging the passenger a fee in addition to
any standard fee that carrier may require for comparable carryon
baggage, if—
‘‘(A) the instrument can be stowed safely in a suitable
baggage compartment in the aircraft cabin or under a passenger
seat, in accordance with the requirements for carriage
of carry-on baggage or cargo established by the Administrator;
and
‘‘(B) there is space for such stowage at the time the passenger
boards the aircraft.
‘‘(2) LARGER INSTRUMENTS AS CARRY-ON BAGGAGE.—An air
carrier providing air transportation shall permit a passenger to
carry a musical instrument that is too large to meet the requirements
of paragraph (1) in the aircraft cabin, without charging
the passenger a fee in addition to the cost of the additional ticket
described in subparagraph (E), if—
‘‘(A) the instrument is contained in a case or covered so
as to avoid injury to other passengers;
‘‘(B) the weight of the instrument, including the case or
covering, does not exceed 165 pounds or the applicable
weight restrictions for the aircraft;
‘‘(C) the instrument can be stowed in accordance with
the requirements for carriage of carry-on baggage or cargo
established by the Administrator;
‘‘(D) neither the instrument nor the case contains any
object not otherwise permitted to be carried in an aircraft
cabin because of a law or regulation of the United States;
and
‘‘(E) the passenger wishing to carry the instrument in
the aircraft cabin has purchased an additional seat to accommodate
the instrument.
‘‘(3) LARGE INSTRUMENTS AS CHECKED BAGGAGE.—An air
carrier shall transport as baggage a musical instrument that is
the property of a passenger traveling in air transportation that
may not be carried in the aircraft cabin if—
‘‘(A) the sum of the length, width, and height measured
in inches of the outside linear dimensions of the instrument
(including the case) does not exceed 150 inches or the applicable
size restrictions for the aircraft;
‘‘(B) the weight of the instrument does not exceed 165
pounds or the applicable weight restrictions for the aircraft;
and
‘‘(C) the instrument can be stowed in accordance with
the requirements for carriage of carry-on baggage or cargo
established by the Administrator.
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this section, the Secretary shall issue final regulations to
carry out subsection (a).
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this section shall
become effective on the date of issuance of the final regulations
under subsection (b).’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for such subchapter
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘41724. Musical instruments.’’.

Go to Section 403, on Pages 79-80 of this PDF file. Print it out, including the header pages, put it in a plastic sheet protector, and DUCK TAPE IT TO YOUR GUITAR CASE before you board that flight.


There is no excuse for what these airlines do to us, nor to their weak attempts at resolving their horrid mistakes. I hope all this is useful to you guys, and to ANY musician who values their instruments.


DO NOT BE THEIR VICTIM.

 

[KingsGene]

Thanks! Great info...

 

[Metal_Camden]

wow, thank you! I'm actually printing all this atm haha

 

[Fizrider]

This is why I no longer fly to hunt - and if I do, I borrow a rifle at the destination and sight it in there.

Airtran managed to demolish a $250 gun case... thankfully "only" doing a couple hundred dollars damage to a beloved Browning BAR. I never got satisfaction from them - and have not flown them again for that reason.