Gator G-Tour Elec Electric Guitar ATA Flight Case

I bought this case because I though it was going to be the best! It cost twice as much as most cases. However, I was dissapointed. It will be destroyed by the airline quite quickly. The rivets will pop off and the airline WILL eventually poke holes through the plywood. They did this to 2 of these cases. I wrote to Gator and they are not going to try to improve the case and tell me they are not responsible for 3rd party abuse. Maybe it was abused, but I think they should design a case to take the normal punishment of air travel. Find another case! I am trying an SKB injection molded case next. I hope it is more durable. Current list of design flaws: * Plywood cannot stand what appears to be normal loads experienced by items in baggage handling as proven by two cases with almost exact same failure. * The rivets on corner protestors cannot take the normal loads either. My current case and the other cases have many rivets sheared off. * The neck support is too weak to retain the neck in position. You can see on this current case where the foam has compressed and doesn't keep it in place.

I needed a case for shipping my Telecaster across the Atlantic Ocean. Shipping equipment in flight cargo always poses a risk. I chose the Gator case, as I was in a hurry and, basically, went for the most easily accessible choice. The Gator case looked like the most solid bid at Guitar Center. I could tell the build was not as solid, as the cases, I would normally go for. I figured it would do for this once, though. My guitar arrived in Denmark, Europe, unscathed, which is, of course, the main point! In that sense, it served it's purpose. The Gator case itself didn't however. The handle was broken upon arrival. I know, the baggage handlers are not kind to gear. A flight case should be be able to take the punishment. The Gator case, obviously, isn't. So, I am not sure, I would readily buy another Gator case, unless circumstance forces me to do so. There are other brands of cases, that will, successfully, protect your gear and survive the handling, too.