Buy the best flight case you can afford and get religious . Do not rely on an "always" or an advance promise , British Airways supposedly "always" let you carry on , a few months ago I was bringing a bass back from the U.S. , BA would not allow it in the cabin after I had been told by many , including the travel agent that they would . After arriving in Copenhagen and a long wait in oversize it finally came out on a cart with twenty other bags and boxes piled on top of it despite the "fragile" stickers pasted everywhere , I was lucky , it was in one piece with minor damage being a bent tuning key . Everybody now is going crazy with carry-on trying to avoid the extra cost which leaves much less room for us . I would never fly with a high quality bass .