Musician blasts airline for 'smashing handcrafted £7k instrument beyond repair'
A musician was distraught to discover his beloved double bass had been damaged after checking it onto a flight.
Mark Elton travelled from Melbourne to Perth to perform at the city's Fringe Festival, checking his hand-crafted $13,000AU (£6,750) instrument in as oversized baggage with stickers marked 'fragile' on the case, he explained on an Instagram post.
When the veteran musician opened the bag at his destination, he noticed large cracks in the wood. Mark took to social media to explain what happened.
"Hey @qantas! Thanks for a very depressing start to my month of shows at @fringeworldperth 2024,' he posted along with images of the damage. "After flying Melbourne/Perth today I opened my flight case and found my beautiful Double Bass smashed beyond repair after obviously being dropped from a considerable height by your baggage people.
"After many years of being a club member and choosing to fly with @qantas I'm hoping you'll support me through this major emotional and financial setback."
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Mark opened the case to find his instrument damaged, he said (markeltonbass/Instagram)
The musician took to social media to explain what had happened (markeltonbass/Instagram)Musicians quickly rushed to support Mark, with WA Symphony Orchestra double bassist and luthier Andrew Tait loaning him an instrument so he could play the month of shows he had lined up.
Qantas responded to the double bassist's complaint and checked CCTV, saying there was no sign that the instrument had been damaged in transit. The airline did offer a goodwill payment.
In a statement a spokesperson for the company said: "We know how important it is to handle all luggage with care, including musical instruments,' Qantas said in a statement. "We are concerned to hear that the double bass has been damaged and we have been actively investigating what has happened with our ground handling partners since we were first notified on Tuesday."
Musicians regularly face the difficult question of how they should transport their instruments when playing overseas or far from home. Last year a virtuoso violinist had to take an eight-hour bus after he was stopped from carrying his immensely valuable instrument onto a plane.
Janusz Wawrowski from Konin, Poland was carrying an original Stradivarius violin when he was denied boarding on a LOT Polish Airlines flight. The musician had declined to check the 337-year-old violin in the luggage hold, wanting to keep the instrument by his side at all times.
Considering it was valued at over £4.15million, it is fairly easy to understand why. Janusz was traveling from Vilnius International Airport following a performance with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra at the time.
Airline officials told him he would not be able to get onto the aircraft with the violin. He is the only person allowed to carry the violin under the contract of his ownership of it.
The musician told Simple Flying that ground staff at the airport said he'd have to put the violin in the hold or stay in Vilnius. The current guidance on the LOT website states passengers are allowed to bring one carry-on baggage up to 8kg with a total dimension not longer than 118 cm.
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