<
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/17/arts/sheku-kanneh-mason-cello-air-canada.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j04.QUxJ.O5nP3Tmo9nuM>
"The miseries of flying for work are well documented. Delays. Cancellations.
The eternal gamble: to check or not to check bags, risking damaged or lost
luggage.
For professional cellists, whose tools of the trade are extremely delicate
instruments that can be worth thousands if not millions of dollars, and which
certainly do not fit into the overhead bins, flying can be exponentially worse.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason, a rising star in classical music, was forced to cancel a
concert in Toronto last week because Air Canada refused to allow him to board a
plane with his cello, even though he had purchased a separate ticket for it.
“This is an all too frequent occurrence for traveling cellists and other
musicians with instruments that need to go in the cabin,” Kanneh-Mason, who
rose to fame after performing at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
in 2018, said in a statement on Tuesday.
The episode, which struck a chord with cellists around the world, occurred last
week when Kanneh-Mason and his sister, Isata, a pianist, were on tour and
trying to fly from Cincinnati to Toronto, with a connection in Washington.
Their original flight, on American Airlines, was delayed and then canceled, a
spokeswoman said. So they bought tickets on a new flight to Toronto on Air
Canada — including one for his cello.
Kanneh-Mason said that “we were given conflicting information by Air Canada
throughout the long process, culminating with staff denying our boarding with
the cello at the gate.”
Air Canada said on Monday that the company regretted that the musicians had not
been able to travel as expected and that it would be in contact with them."
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
