United Breaks Guitars

[KrishnaM]

Lesson to airlines - Dont make a musician angry

An irked Canadian musician who accused United Airlines of breaking his prized guitar has taken his revenge, writing a song that has become an internet hit and a public relations disaster for the airline.

Dave Carroll composed United Breaks Guitars and posted it on YouTube after he said the American airline damaged his treasured Taylor acoustic at Chicago's O'Hare airport last year.

"We were sitting at the back of the plane with the band, and a woman who didn't know we were musicians yells out, 'Oh, my God they're throwing guitars outside'," Carroll told local media.

After months of trying in vain to get the airline to pay compensation and help repair the instrument worth 3,500 Canadian dollars ($A3,850), Carroll changed tack.

"I had this sort of epiphany," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Company, "I'm going to write... songs about your airlines and I'm going to put them on YouTube and talk about my experience."

On Thursday, United Breaks Guitars had nearly half a million views on YouTube and had been covered by major news networks in Canada and the United States.

The video features the folk-rockers looking on in horror as United ground staff play clumsy catch with the guitar case and pound it with mallets.

http://www.livenews.com.au/music/uni...10/212504?play

[David Knudsen]

Direct link to the youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

[D Chan]

as part of the condition of checking in bags you are required to sign a limited release which releases the airline of liability,

When you check in certain items, some airlines attach a Limited Release Tag (LRT). Such items might include musical instruments, sporting equipment (bikes and surfboards etc) or even prams and buggies. These items are checked in on a limited release basis, where a carrier will attempt to remove its liability should the baggage be lost or damaged. Therefore you may find that the airline refuses your claim.

[Montague S]

that's all well & good Mr. Chan, but it DOESN'T give handlers the right to treat the items like Chinese goods with no value.

[Kieran Wells]

Funny The Times of England only picked up this story on Saturday just gone. I was surprised when i saw it, having known about it and seen the clip...

[Gareth Forwood]

Yeah NZ TV news ran it last week when I was there. But in NZ a few weeks late is actually a really good effort...