Obviously, the best option is not to fly at all, as far as I'm concerned.
Second best would be not to have to fly with your guitar.
Third would be to fly with a cheap guitar you don't care for all that much.
 
If you really have to fly with a precious instrument... Well, at least now you got yourself a little more wiggle room. But it's still an awful idea. The whole flying thing, I mean.
 

Steinberger brooms are the easiest to fly with (and the only guitar I've ever flown with).
 


 
 

I would have thought a Parker Fly would work better... :P


I've flown once with one Epi LP and my US strat. Virgin folks saw me with my guitars and offered to take them onboard in the staff's own storage space, free of charge before I could even ask anything. They're the best.
 
Flying still sucks though.

Rain
Flying still sucks though.

Better than falling with that sudden stop though...

craigb

Rain
Flying still sucks though.

Better than falling with that sudden stop though...

Gravity Kills, yeah... :P

Flyin' with a guitar....is that like Surfin' with an alien?
 
Rain I watched another very good martial arts movie last night...True Legend. :)

spacey
Flyin' with a guitar....is that like Surfin' with an alien?
 
Rain I watched another very good martial arts movie last night...True Legend. :)

I haven't seen that one - I'll look it up. Thanks!! :)
 
Now why do I suddenly feel like listening to old Satriani... 

I was asked to bring a guitar with me when I went to Argentina the last time. I thought about that for all of 3 seconds before saying "No!" 
 
I did not relish the idea of traveling with a guitar for 2 weeks to the places we were going, nor did I think that carrying it on the several planes and through the airports and security in foreign countries sounded like a fun idea.
 
Instead, having been to Argentina before, and knowing there were a number of musicians there whose guitars I could borrow that were already set up on stage..... I simply asked that one be provided for me as the need arose.
 
Everything worked out perfectly and there was never a time that I didn't have a guitar when I needed one. One fellow there even offered to give me a guitar to carry with me, a spare that he had, for my duration in country. I did not need it because every place we went had a stage setup ready to roll.

My solution for Spain and Russia was this.

 
Since we could only take a few luggages, I unbolted the neck and placed both parts in a huge bag full of clothes. When we arrived in Spain and my bags were missing, I sure was glad that I hadn't taken my prized US strat w/ me, as much as I missed it.
 
99$, saved me tons of headaches, and it's still fun to play - it's my alternate tuning/slide guitar, when I'm looking for ideas. The pick up is on the muddier side, but, for $99 - man, I wish I had access to cheap guitars that were that playable when I grew up...