Qantas smashed my double-bass
OrchestrasThe Australian airline has been accused of destroying a double-bass belonging to Mark Elton by dropping it ‘from a considerable height’.
Mark was flying from Melbourne to Perth. There’s not much choice of airline on that route.
He writes: ‘Hey @qantas! Thanks for a very depressing start to my month of shows at @fringeworldperth 2024. 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. What’s worse is there was no apology or notification of any accident involving my precious instrument. 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 & financial setback.’
Any response from Qantas? Hmmm…
Can you quantify your loss?
That’s a good question whose answer would probably be, “Maybe not.” Even if the airline were to pay the cost of a replacement, there’s little guarantee that the new bass would be as good in quality as what he had. It is possible that he may be able to go up a bit in quality, but that’s a hit or miss thing even with a good luthier working with him. And how does anyone quantify whatever emotional attachment he may have had with that instrument?
Bob…How do you put a price on losing “your voice”?
Naturally I don’t want to excuse the Quantas goons who did this but in the world of stringed instruments virtually nothing is irreparable.
Get a quote from a decent luthier and take your claim from there. Good luck!
Are the baggage handlers at the airport employed by QANTAS?
The passenger’s contract for safe passage and carriage of his/her effects is with the airline. An airline cannot evade liability **to the passenger** for a breach of contract merely because it was caused by a third party, unless the terms of the contract exclude such liability, and whilst many contracts seek to reduce liability for third-party failures, it is unlikely for a contract that seeks to exclude them completely to be legally valid (there are various consumer laws and international conventions that impose minimum requirements). The principle here is that the onus is on the airline to select and engage service providers (e.g.: airports) and subcontractors and seek redress from them (to reflect the airline’s obligation to compensate passengers) where they are deemed liable for a breach of contract (in the same way that, in event of a flight delay or cancellation, the passenger would seek assistance and redress from the airline, irrespective of whether the delay or cancellation was caused directly by the airline itself).
No they are contractors – SwissPort.
No, they are subcontractors. What a shocking job, though. I’d never want to do it myself!
I have an east German 1800s double bass, I bought it from a player of the BBC orchestra. In the 70s it had the front smashed, it was reconstructed to a great standard.
The sound and quality of the bass is the back, it sounds from the string to the posts, the front just ports sounds via the F holes.
The value will be less, but it can be fixed.
Actually the sound and quality come from the soundboard, the rest of the body is just a reflector.
A double bass becomes a didgeridoo…
“Mark was flying from Melbourne to Perth. There’s not much choice of airline on that route.” Same level of choice as on all other routes connecting state capitals, i.e., Qantas and Virgin Australia. (Jetstar also flies this route, though nobody sane would commit a double bass to their mercies.)
You can actually get a folding double bass, where you take off the back, you turn the neck around to fit inside the body, and refit the back. At the other end of the journey you reverse the process. I thought musicians with valuable instruments bought seats for them in the cabin?
They won’t accept the really large instruments in the cabin, have not done so for many years. It’s been decades since I was allowed to purchase a seat for any my tubas or historic low brass. The folding basses you speak of are of a middling quality. Mark is a professional.