Exclusive: Gidon Kremer’s trio is dumped by airline
NewsWe hear that all airlines in Europe are routinely overbooked this month. Some worse than others.
This cri de coeur has just landed from the celebrated violinist Gidon Kremer:
I feel I must share the following with you and many travelling cellists.
Our piano trio – Georgijs Osokins , Giedre Dirvanauskaite and me – Gidon – is on a European summer festival tour.
An hour ago, on our way from Lithuania to Vienna in order to play at the Lockenhaus chamber music festival, we were in transit at Copenhagens airport.
All three of us- musicians plus the cello were already checked in.
At the gate the officer in charge of SAS denied the cello to be taken on board of Austrian Airlines flight because “it was overbooked”.
He said in a rather harsh tone of voice, that Austrian gives priority to passengers on a waiting list. Because of the cello we suddenly – despite having boarding passes- were downgraded to the waiting list.
After we refused to put the valuable instrument into the luggage department, he issued new boarding passes to at least 4 passengers at the counter. I tried in vain to explain to him, that we have an important concert and the cello seat was legally paid, that we had a valid ticket for the flight….
Nothing could convince him and we had to leave CPH without our cello partner and her valuable Gofriller.
More-Giedre was later told that all other flights to Vienna were overbooked and she could fly only via Zurich tomorrow with a delay of at least 26 hours. Our performance is now on the verge to be cancelled.
Lately such accidents became already a sad routine with a number of our colleagues suffering over airlines policy, but I was really surprised, that such an incident can happen to the country of Mozart and “Sounds of music” .
Shame on Austrian Airlines and their SAS partners.
UPDATE: Giedre has found a way to arrive this morning. The concert will go ahead.
Air travel *without* a cello has gone from mildly enjoyable (on a good day) to pretty uncomfortable.
Air travel *with* a cello has gone from pretty uncomfortable to absolute nightmare.
Glad I now do the former only very occasionally, and the latter, never again.
One can imagines the troubles double bass players go through, especially if they are themselves also quite bulky. And what about travelling organists?
And pianist ?
Solution…instead of a Grand book ticket for an Upright but Ryanair, an Accordion but if
Air Tirana,a Harmonica…don’t tell me there are no Solutions !
Nurse quick…an Aspirin !
Stupid airline- but jet setting musicians who keep such schedules and expect to arrive the day before or even the day of a concert are just asking for it these days.
… if we arrived two days prior to every gig and stayed in a hotel then there wouldn’t be anything left of our fee would there?
You obviously have no concept of Kremer’s fee…..
Are you mentally stable? I guess we’re also asking for it when we drive and get into a car accident, or when we go outside and expect to arrive at a destination without any trouble? In what world does a forced cancellation and 26 hour delay constitute negligence on the part of the customer? Can we not expect to arrive at a destination as planned by the company when we actually pay for their services? I understand that you want to blame others so that you feel like you have more control in your life. “I wouldn’t have done that! I would be fine!” Well be prepared for a rude awakening because that’s not how the world works. The earlier you snap out of your delusion, the better for everyone
Fancy doing the maths on what an extra night’s accommodation and meals on the road for each concert costs for a trio in a year?
they should arrive a
day before the concert.
i have been to gigs
where the artist has just come from the
airport.
All Players:
Avoid Austria and American Airlines
It was Austrian Airlines that dumped them, not American Airlines.
U.S. carriers operate under a standardized federal rule that if there is open space in a plane, musicians must be allowed to carry on their instruments. Europe and the UK don’t have such protections (yes a rare thing on which America is ahead of Europe). So American shouldn’t be lumped in with Austrian, unless you know something we don’t.
From Lithuania to Vienna, how did they end up in Denmark? Maybe Gidon should be angry at his travel agent who sold him a terrible routing.
There is a direct flight from Vilnius-Vienna with Ryanair…..
Ryanair + cello = death
Copenhagen to Vienna? DB runs ICE from there to Hamburg, when you can change to ICE to Vienna (Hamburg Altona to Wien) overnight. Longer than a flight, but plenty of room in First Class for musical instruments.
How stupid can airlines be? Wouldn’t one think that after all the years musicians have been travelling by air an airline would work out how they could accommodate frequent travellers like musicians and their ‘baggage’? What a marvellous reputation an airline could have if it were known they regularly made provision for safely transporting larger, highly valued items nearby with their owner.
I believe BEA considered it an Honour bestowed on it to have Menuhin choose them to travel
to the Continent and wouldn’t dream of charging him.
Around 12 hours by car?
Have traveled extensively in Europe over the past four years with my son and his cello. We always get a ticketed seat for the cello.
Despite that:
Air France canceled our business class seats at the airport HND to CDG last summer. I had doubly confirmed with the airline that the cello was set to fly.
100% of the time the cheapest airlines are the most reliable. Simply never an issue with Ryanair & EasyJet on intra-Europe flights.
Iberia requires a phone call before booking and it’s almost impossible to get an agent on the phone.
United has been great but I have 1K status so that might help.
I believe it was Scandinavian Air that declined us last year because cello dimensions were outside of their limits. But they act like a cello is a solid box – not a curved tapered object that easily fits in most seats.
We **always** add buffer days to our travel assuming we’ll run into cello accommodation issues.
Sorry to say it, but Gordon Kremer could afford private jet/charter within Europe. You’re talking 4 tickets and relatively short flights.
Just flew Iberia BER-MAD without any problems. Had my seats confirmed before checking in….Easyjet is always no problem…
Rage bait
And yet again reported to Slippedisc, not to a major media outlet that MIGHT take up the story if it were properly reported and researched.
Bassist here. I know your pain and frustration. Glad the concert will go on.
Austria? Figures.