UNITED BREAKS GUITARS

Supposedly this guy got a couple free guitars from Taylor, as a courtesy after all the free publicity they got from this youtube video.

I've had several annoying experiences flying with guitars-- the airlines, for the most part, don't make it easy for musicians to travel with instruments. Nor do they do a good job taking care of your instrument if you insist on bringing it on a flight. This situation got even worse after 9/11. I was told by an airline employee that things had loosened up a bit recently. (To be fair, I'm generalizing-- my experiences haven't all been bad, and some airline people have been cheerful and helpful. It's been hard for me to avoid generalizing after watching baggage handlers throw bags through the air, though. I had some damaged gear that could only have been the result of really stupid handling.)