Musicians often travel with their instruments on board airplanes. While the valuable cargo usually arrives at its destination undamaged, there are repeated reports of improper handling by airlines leading to damage to the instruments.
A passenger on a United Airlines flight recently experienced something similar: Upon landing, he discovered his guitar had broken into several pieces. Fortunately, a well-known country singer showed compassion and bought him a new instrument.
Broken into a thousand pieces
Sam Hayes, a musician from Nashville, recently traveled with United Airlines with his musical instrument. At the gate, he was asked to check his luggage because there was no more space on the plane. Hayes reluctantly agreed. Upon arriving at his destination, he received his guitar back in its case—shattered, as he described it, into "a thousand pieces." Hayes expressed his disappointment: "It's a part of what you do and who you are. You fall in love with these guitars, and they just become an extension of you."
According to a report by local news station WSMV4, United Airlines encouraged Hayes to purchase a new guitar and promised to refund the amount. However, this would have required Hayes to initially pay the money out of his own pocket until the refund was received.
Generous gesture from a colleague
When Grammy-nominated country singer Chris Young, who only knew Hayes casually, learned of the situation, he called him. He told him that a Gibson guitar was waiting for him at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. Hayes was overwhelmed by this generosity: "It shows who Chris is and how he understands the whole community and what music means to the people who make it professionally or as a dream."
As it turns out, Young himself had a similar experience. WSMV4 quotes him as saying, "A long time ago, when I was living in Texas, my guitar broke on a flight. I know how that feels, so I was just trying to help a friend. In the country music industry, we try to look out for each other. I hope that one day, after hearing about this, someone will return the favor."
Guidelines for musical instruments in air travel
There are guidelines for passengers traveling with special equipment such as musical instruments and other fragile items. Airlines publish these on their official websites and inform their airport staff accordingly. United Airlines states on its website: "You may bring one small instrument in a hard-shell case. It will be considered your carry-on bag if you place it in the overhead compartment above your seat, or a personal item if you place it under the seat in front of you."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allows passengers to carry small instruments such as guitars or violins as carry-on baggage, but ultimately, airlines have the freedom to enforce their own rules regarding size, weight, and fees for larger items. The Musicians' Union also provides some general guidelines stating that there should be no additional charge for carrying an instrument as cabin baggage as long as there is sufficient space in the overhead compartment or under the seat. It is recommended to consider priority boarding, as space for instruments is often allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Repeated incidents
Unfortunately, this isn't the first case of musical instruments being damaged by airlines. In December 2022, Indian singer Benny Dayal criticized all Indian airlines for improper handling of musical instruments and inadequate customer service. In 2019, singer Chad Walsh experienced his guitar breaking after unpacking it shortly before a concert on an Air Canada flight from Canada to Los Angeles.
The 2008 case of Dave Carroll, whose guitar was damaged on a United flight and who subsequently released the viral song "United Breaks Guitars," is a particularly well-known example of this problem. These incidents underscore the sensitivity of transporting musical instruments and the importance of careful handling by airlines.