AVIATION/ RYANAIR STIFFS MUSICIANS OVER VIOLINS

Three musicians were left stunned after they were forced to buy additional seats for their instruments on a RYANAIR flight last Friday. The trio, who flew in to London Stansted to perform at a candle-lit Bach concert, believed they could take their instruments on board as free hand luggage. But just 3 days before their flight, they discovered they would have to pay for an extra seat for each violin case, at a cost of £1,340. Hungarian-born Agnes Langer, 18, and Russian Igor Tsinman, 26, flew from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport on Friday with their tutor Prof Anne Shih. But their plans fell into disarray after the Irish Airline ruled the cases, which could have fit in an overhead bin, were bigger than the permitted size, 55cms by 40cms by 20cms. Since they could not run the risk of their 18th century violins, worth up to £800,000 each, getting damaged in the cargo hold, they were obliged to pay for extra seats. Shih's precious Guarnerius violin along with Igor's rare Sanctus Serafin and the Testore instrument played by Agnes were strapped in their own seats for the journey to the Salle recital. The charity Norfolk Concerts, which organized the concert in the church at Salle, near Reepham, Norfolk, reluctantly paid for the extra seats. The executive director is now preparing to take legal action against the budget Airline for breach of contract. He claims Ryanair had agreed the instruments would be exempt from the hand luggage limit when the tickets were booked a month ago. He said: "Obviously you cannot put a fragile Stradivarius or Guarnerius in the hold due to the cold, let alone risk of damage. Ryanair want to get the message out that they don't want hand luggage in the cabins and they simply don't give a damn if a few musicians have a problem. It is so anti-cultural. We are saying that we had a contract and they have changed the rules, and our lawyers think we have a good case. When you buy a cello seat, you know you have to do it because the instrument is too big to go into the overhead rack. But a violin case is very slim and will go in easily, even if it is a little bit over the limit". A Ryanair spokesman said: "The policy has been the same for two years and the terms and conditions clearly explain that musical instruments need to have a second seat. It is the responsibility of individual passengers to research the conditions before they book their flights. There can be no allowances made for anyone, whether its the next superstar in cricket, tennis or music. The terms and conditions are the same for everyone". (SK COMMENT: Just another incident in Ryanair's long history of abysmal customer service. As long as they continue to sell base tickets at rock bottom prices, they will continue to fill their seats. Is it any wonder that they can then do as they please when it comes to the treatment of their passengers?).