MagnusP
PukinDog, a hard case and checkin led to a friend arriving in the UK from New York and collecting a hard case. That's it; no $5000 guitar, just the
case.
Point taken about the strings, but what next? Shoelaces?
Oh, the strings are merely the best excuse to stop the nonsense that guitars are somehow special items that don't need to adhere to the size requirement for carry-ons everyone else is expected to live by. And since every or extra checked bag(s) are routinely subject to an additional fee now and there's incentive to carry as much on as possible, it only doubles the annoyance that there is an unofficial exemption being played out.
Bad luck for your friend to be targeted by a thief, but guitars and other musical intstruments are no more subject to theft than other expensive items checked in dedicated cases (such as firearms, sporting equipment, art). Anything over the standard payout value should be insured, and very expensive items are better shipped by dedicated courier who's primary business is to keep track of and deliver the item.
I refuse to accept that guitars deserve a special size-exemption. I don't, for example, see trombone players using this tactic and taking up the bin space of 2, and a trombone player is most likely a serious musician unlike every yahoo who pretends they can play guitar.
Now that I think about it, perhaps I'll simply stuff one of my guitar cases with clothes and sundry items next time I pax and carry it on in addition to a computer bag and see how that works out for me.