United airlines....

[Sheldon]

good song kind of catchy .... United Breaks Guitars

[ricbak]

Just a little CNN Follow up:

YouTube - CNN: Man Goes After United Airlines On YouTube [United Breaks Guitars]

[mistertaco]

Dave Carroll seems like a nice guy and writes some good music; however, professional musicians have flight cases for there gear. His plight could have been avoided if he was wise to protecting precious instruments correctly. UA is getting sort of a bad rap on this one in particular.

[Sheldon]

Some how I doubt that, having flown multiple times I have witnessed how heavy handed baggage handlers can get, and have seen them open luggage on the line and paw through peoples belongings, that is why shrink wrapping luggage has become popular....

My daughter had new Samsonite luggage with the TSA locks when she departed for her duty station in Korea, the Baggage handlers ripped them off to see what they could steal and that act took at the very least a pry bar.... and no the airlines took no responsibility for this act her damaged luggage or missing stuff either....

some of them are honest but if you want a real eye opener go to the lost and damaged baggage claim some time and watch all the people there with complaints... I did while my daughter was home on leave last Christmas, they lost all her clothes for about a week, one gal was up here from the south and all her winter stuff was gone, she was in tears and her 3 year old had no coat here in Mi in the middle of December..... they were too bad for you, next......

[mistertaco]

No doubt baggage gets tossed around. I'd like folks to look deeper into the situation and not make judgement calls based on personal experience with airlines, rather how they would have left their home with a delicate instrument in the first place.

Carroll was just using a regular hard shell case with "padding". This is not sufficient for touring or travel (obviously). Flight cases, which he wasn't using, protect to a much higher degree and are lockable. We can sit, stand, tip 'em over, drop them and the guitars inside are perfectly fine. But may go out of tune :)

It's akin to a nylon/zipper gun bag to a pelican case. And sticking a delicate instrument in the nylon one and expect it to be fine after being handled by airlines, trains or even roadies!

Here's what gets me. Personal responsiblity. If Dave Carroll took measures in advance, by using equipment that other professionals use, he'd be fine. Instead, he's exploiting what we already know is an industry sore spot to people for personal gain.

[ricbak]

Some how I doubt that, having flown multiple times I have witnessed how heavy handed baggage handlers can get ~~

+1! There is absolutely no respect for other peoples property. We have had "Stuff" stolen and luggage damaged to the point it had to be replaced.

[Sheldon]

+1! There is absolutely no respect for other peoples property. We have had "Stuff" stolen and luggage damaged to the point it had to be replaced.

The luggage my daughter had was brand new, I had bought her Samsonite some of the toughest stuff on the market and they destroyed it the first time she used it....

So just what chance would a hardened guitar case have.... The one in the video was just a prop so how do we know he did not use one.....

[mistertaco]

Right, right. His post on his blog said, "... my hard case out of the padded protective exterior case ..."
Dave Carroll on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

The padded exterior case he mentions is a nylon cover.

Basically, he had this (the hard case):
SKB 18 Dreadnought Case from zZounds.com!

Inside of this (the padded protective exterior case):
Gator GLDREAD Lightweight Case from zZounds.com!

When he should have used this (FLIGHT cases; what we would use for amplifiers and speaker cabinets too)
ProStageGear PSAFC Acoustic Guitar Flight Case with Gig Bag from zZounds.com!

These flight cases are great and withstand a lot of abuse of harried roadies and specifically baggage handlers; while still protecting the contents inside. My bicycles have a similar case style. Very, very rugged. Yes, they can be thrown, dropped, etc ... which is why we use them for travel.

Regular hard shell cases are thin plywood. They can't be thrown or dropped without ruining the integrity of the case. The nylon covers are soft and don't provide any protection other than dust and light scratches.

[Sheldon]

Yeah they destroyed it on purpoise I read the descripiton...

For dreadnought guitars and 12 strings. Newly designed contoured arched lid will fit knobs on electric modes. Molded-in bumpers provide valance protection. Heavy duty Deluxe Plush interior.

The entire line of SKB guitar cases is world-famous for unsurpassed protection and solid value. Virtually every major guitar manufacturer worldwide has selected SKB as their original equipment case supplier.

Features
Full length neck support

Trigger latches with TSA lock

Steel feet with rubber gaskets prevent impact damage

TSA locks which indicates it is sutable for shipping by air... and then he placed this inside!!!

Perfect cross between a hard case and a gig bag! Covered with 600-Denier ballistic material and internally constructed of dense EPS foam. Interior is covered in soft plush with foam support for the neck. Two accessory pockets. Parachute nylon web carrying handle. Comfortable removable shoulder strap. Fits dreadnought guitars.

hardened case, ballistic material and foam, he had it well packed, they went medieval on that gutiar....

[mistertaco]

Hahaha. Don't buy into the musical instrument marketing crap now :) TSA locks are locks and that's all; they don't offer protection from damage. If you even look at OEM cases they break. Believe me. I know (and so does Dave Carroll now)

He did not pack well for this trip.

P.S. I'm not disputing UA was rough on the baggage. I'm just saying it could have been prevented by using industry standard measures like Flight Cases, which is made specifically for flight.

Or are you just breakin' my balls on this? :) I'm not part of the airline industry for sakes!