I always travel with my Martin Baby Guitar which is about 36-38 inches long in a soft shell case. The guitar I think is smaller than the travel Taylor guitar (the Martin I own is not real wood but a High Pressure Laminate which is a sort of plastic made to look like wood). The action and sound is surprisingly good. I have looked at picking up a Travel Taylor but it is a little larger.

I have not had an issue with carry on and I have travelled to STT with United, American/US Air and Air Canada. My luggage is also carry on and I put that first in the overhead bin and then lay the guitar over it so the neck is on top of my (small) backpack. I skycheck the guitar when on one of the feeder flights -- I live in Ottawa and start my trip on an Embraer so by the time I reach the hub (Newark, Philly or Toronto) I'm in the system and don't get hassled at the gate. However since you do run the risk of someone giving you an attitude, I sprung for a first class seat on my last trip which gives me priority boarding (a good suggestion that was made above) and fewer people fighting over overhead space. On a side note, if you know your sailing dates in advance (I am on another flotilla next February and the dates are set), airfares are a lot cheaper than they will be by September. My first class ticket for next year was the same price a month ago as the economy fare ticket I usually buy in October-November.

cs