Flying with ukulele

Loveiz

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 27, 2018
Messages
58
Reaction score
0
Location
UK
I'm flying long haul in the new year and considering packing my cheaper ukulele into a large suitcase well padded. Just wondering has anyone got any experience of doing this. It's possible I may be able to get on as hand luggage but not sure yet.
 
I have a friend who does this frequently, with what I would call an expensive uke, and has had no problems. I carry on a cheap soprano in a decent gig bag. You'll get lots of advice on this, from people who travel more than I do.
 
I travel back and forth between Iowa, NYC, and San Juan, PR. I put my ukulele in a hard case and stuff it in my suitcase that I check as baggage. The case seems to take a lot of abuse, but I've never gotten a scratch in my ukulele doing so. A lot of people are going to swear that the only safe way is to hand carry it, but I did that once and I thought that lugging it through the airport and trying to stow it on the airplanes was as risky if not more so. But I have an aversion to lugging things around airports in general, some people seem to like having their things with them. So that's what I do.
 
I’ve only flown with a uke once. Short trip from Salt Lake to LA for the recent uke festival. I carried on an inexpensive soprano in a Gator brand padded gig bag. Easy fit in the overhead. I had not problems.
 
Anyone ever put one under seat in front of them? Are they too long?
Southwest jams bags in so tight I think they'd mess up even a hard foam case in the overhead.
 
I just flew from Tampa to St. Louis this morning on Southwest with a beautiful new LoPrinzi concert, picked up from Donna on Wednesday.

The case was too long to fit under the seat, so it went into the overhead bin. The flight was completely full, so there were other things in the bin to keep it from moving around. I had an Oasis humidifier in the case, so the dry air in the plane wasn’t a problem (I hope - it looks fine).

The case was a few inches longer than what they say is the maximum, but nobody said anything. If they had, I would be in the airport Marriott waiting to send it FedEx tomorrow. :)
 
Last edited:
I just flew from Tampa to St. Louis this morning on Southwest with a beautiful new LoPrinzi concert, picked up from Donna on Wednesday.

The case was to long to fit under the seat, so it went into the overhead bin. The flight was completely full, so there were other things in the bin to keep it from moving around. I had an Oasis humidifier in the case, so the dry air in the plane wasn’t a problem (I hope - it looks fine).

The case was a few inches longer than what they say is the maximum, but nobody said anything. If they had, I would be in the airport Marriott waiting to send it FedEx tomorrow. :)
My soprano, in a padded gig bag may have fit under the seat, but just barely. I didn't want to try that, so it went in the overhead. It's been many years since I've flown, and I was amazed at the behemoth "carry on" things people were dragging down the isle of the plane. I was just flying over & back for the day, so I had no checked luggage & my goal was to move quickly with just the items I needed for a day at the uke festival. If I was flying farther & staying longer, I still think I'd feel better carrying my uke on the plane with me.
 
I have flown with a soprano in a Crossrock hard case as a carry on. It fits under the seat in front of me and or in an overhead bin. Personally, I wouldn’t check it inside a suitcase because suitcases sometimes get lost. And while it’d be sad to lose some jeans and shirts, it’d be freaking tragic to lose a ukulele.

Most airlines have policies that allow you to carry on, even if the dimensions exceed what a suitcase could be. Check it out or call and ask.
 
Ukes tend to be permitted as carry-on.

Would recommend a hardcase.
Whether you put it overhead or in front of you, risk of damage is ever present when its just in a gigbag.

With a hardcase, shove it overhead and forget about it :)
 
I usually carry my instruments as hand luggage but a couple of weeks ago we flew across the continent and I had to bring two Ukes on that trip. I put my new BR Tenor in a Fibreglass Kamoa case. Very light but very strong. I carried that on board. I packed my Beau Hannam Tenor in its Ameritage silver series case inside a large suitcase. It was tightly packed with clothing all around it. When I opened the suitcase this is what I found:

76C71AAF-ACDB-4DD3-A7E5-60E3A9BE9D65.jpg

The moral of the story is that you shouldn’t pack any sharp objects in the same suitcase as your Uke.
 
Thanks for the replies I think it's coming on board with me!
Could always do 12hours of practice that would go down well��
 
Anyone ever put one under seat in front of them? Are they too long?
Southwest jams bags in so tight I think they'd mess up even a hard foam case in the overhead.


Yes, they are too long. If you decide to try it, get a middle seat. They are deeper. The risk is, if it doesn't fit, they will make you put it in overhead, if there is room, or check it if everything is filled uo, and they won't tell you it doesn't fit until the final check, when overhead is more likely to be full.
 
Be very VERY careful taking online advice on flying with a uke. Getting refused it in the cabin ain’t gonna get fixed when you are at the gate by saying “I read it on UU”... the fact of the matter is, not only are all carriers different, they also all have a safety net in terms and conditions that if they gave no cabin room it goes in the hold. And no amount of arguments will change that when they are trying to depart. I’ve seen it myself with camera equipment...

The answer is always - check with your carrier and don’t rely on the word of others, even if they were successful in what you want to do.

This goes into more detail, from a UK perspective, but it applies anywhere. And I still had people arguing the point..
https://www.gotaukulele.com/2017/09/please-be-careful-with-your-airline.html
 
Be very VERY careful taking online advice on flying with a uke. Getting refused it in the cabin ain’t gonna get fixed when you are at the gate by saying “I read it on UU”... the fact of the matter is, not only are all carriers different, they also all have a safety net in terms and conditions that if they gave no cabin room it goes in the hold. And no amount of arguments will change that when they are trying to depart. I’ve seen it myself with camera equipment...

The answer is always - check with your carrier and don’t rely on the word of others, even if they were successful in what you want to do.

This goes into more detail, from a UK perspective, but it applies anywhere. And I still had people arguing the point..
https://www.gotaukulele.com/2017/09/please-be-careful-with-your-airline.html

Very sage advice! Especially if you plan to fly with budget airlines or on small, short hop flights.
 
I fly long haul a few times a year - this year something about 70k miles. I only fly Delta so cannot tell you about other airline policies. I regularly take a concert as my personal piece of carry on and have carried tenor also. I have some hight quality gig bags and find that these work really well as a hard case is an invitation to have it checked. However over the last ten years I have never had to check either a guitar, banjo or ukulele.. Check the policy of the airline with whom you are flying.

Soprano ukes will also fit into a 22 inch carryon case and I have done this to Africa as well as South America.

I have packed instruments into a hard case and put them in my checked baggage and they have been fine too. Again with DELTA I can check the progress of my checked bags via their app.

Is there a risk - of course but I have travelled for ten years without a problem. I once flew another airline and I saw them drop my dreadnaught guitar that I had checked and while the guitar was fine the case was not. The airline bought me a new case and we were happy.

Remember the song about United broke my guitar? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

If you are worried keep your favorite ukulele at home and buy a cheap one for travel.
 
I fly with my Kamaka Tenor and store it in the overhead bin. I've never had a problem so far. That said, you may want to call the airline ahead of time.
 
Top Bottom