Guitar for travel as carry-on

Hey, guys,

I think this qualifies as a DIY guitar question because I only see a semi-diy solutions. 🙂

I want a cheap guitar that I could take with me when I travel, specifically, when I fly. I always travel light, carry-on only: not very often but regularly. I miss my daily practice even when I am away a week, it gets especially bad when we go on a family trip for 2-3 weeks.

The shortest headless full-size travel guitar I could find is still way too long: 28 inches, and the length limit on the carry-on is 24. What's worse, I cannot have it as a personal item since the size restrictions are even tougher: it is supposed to fit under the seat.

Long story short, I thought I would just unscrew the neck of one of my strats but the standard neck is still too long to fit into the carry-on! My carry-on bag, which is pretty standard and is allowed by most airlines, internally measures as 19" by 13" (48 cm x 33 cm). SO, I thought - a headless strat, maybe? I found this one on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Volgoa-GTWT-01-6-String-Headless-Electric/dp/B0BGL56M94

I think it should fit if I unscrew the neck. What do you think, folks? Any other ideas? I don't really want to pay through the nose for this too, $200 is probably about right, give or take, much more would be hard to justify.

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P.S. This one looks pretty nice too, and I have my birthday in a week, might be able to persuade my wife that it would make a really nice gift...
 
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Cheap strat with hard case and check it in.
Or buy a guitar and send it too the hotel/motel staying at.
I am trying to avoid dealing with checked baggage. Besides, these days checked baggage is always extra $40 or so, one way, at least in the US (if it is included, the ticket will be up by that much or more). Given that, 2-3 trips will eat the cost of a cheap guitar that can be taken apart and put into the carry-on bag.

You offer a good solution but a somewhat expensive one: I'd like to hack this on the cheap if I can...
 
I've looked into carryon luggage dimensions and the typical ATA max length is 22" (as you likely already know). Could you get a slightly longer bag, and/or let the neck poke out slightly? I'm thinking peeking out from a zippered top compartment. Diagonal dimensions in 3D gives you a bit of extra length with creative packing.

I'm going with removing the neck on a 22.5" scale cheap and cheerful Turser strat, which will fit into my carryon that is iirc slightly less than 22" in length, and follows the other two dimension requirements.

Edit: I'm also (for now) in the US and thrift stores have used luggage for small potatos around these parts.
 
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I've decided to go with the guitar in the OP: it is cheap, looks good, has good reviews, and it will fit into carry-on with neck uncrewed. In fact, I am pretty sure I can fit the body into the backpack that I usually take as a personal item in addition to the carry-on. So, only the neck needs to go into the bag. We'll see how it works out...