I’m curious what people’s experiences have been flying with an IJ 7U performance case + gig bag as a carry-on, particularly in North America. Have you had any trouble or been rejected as a carry-on? I’ve heard that there are special provisions made for larger musical instruments if there is enough cabin space but I’m not sure what happens if you are later to board and all the overhead space is full.
This December i’ll be flying across the states and plan to take my 7U 84HP case in it’s bag and i’m slightly nervous because I haven’t flown with it before and don’t want to get stuck in a situation where I have to check it at the last moment or something. Also I’m upgrading to the 104 HP version in January which seems to be pushing it quite close to the limits in terms of weight and size. Thoughts?
I’ve flown within the Continental US and Hawaii with the 104hp version, in its official gig bag, and had zero issues. On a 737, it even fit the “smallest” or preferred way in the overhead bin (short side facing out). TSA didn’t even pause when it went through x-ray. Highly recommended!
As there are no rechargeable battery-looking components inside, it looks as harmless as it is.
We’ve flown with them to quite a few conferences / events without any problems. Both in North America and in Europe. The only issue I could maybe see is discount airlines with tiny overhead bins.
TSA didn’t look twice at my patch cords. The system was partially patched, and the front pouch of the gig bag was full of additional patch cords, power brick, etc.
Of course, your mileage may vary.
I often travel with a portable recorder and a shotgun mic in a metal protective tube. The first few times I flew with it I was sure it would be a hassle, but I got through without any issues. It wasn’t until the time I had a really tight connecting flight that I had to run through the terminal to catch that they actually flagged it and had me explain what it was. Since then I’ve had to take it out and tell them what it is every time.
Out of all the flights we’ve done with the 7U cases I think we only had to do secondary inspection once when flying out of Frankfurt. Most of the other times they either pass it straight through or sometimes ask to see inside the lid and do the swab thing. But then I randomly get that when regularly travelling anyway so I don’t even think it’s specific to the case.
Thanks everyone! I suppose there’s nothing to worry about and thanks for the tip about not keeping it patched - I might have otherwise done that just to save some space in the pockets.
