Originally Posted by
Dave Noble
I don't see why it is that newsworthy; musicians are not forced to fly BA ; if BA no longer meets their needs then they are free ( like anyone else ) to choose another carrier which better meets them
Well, the newsworthiness of an item is only very marginally related to the existence of alternatives. If BA were to decree that everybody needs to board their planes naked, that would be newsworthy notwithstanding the fact that you can choose another carrier.
This item is newsworthy in the same way as changes to baggage policy in general are newsworthy. Not exactly on a par with man landing on the moon but still slightly better than the news that a dog was killed while crossing the road in SE16.
Originally Posted by
InfiniteCycle
Should professional cyclists be permitted to take often extremely valuable bicycles in the cabin? 15,000 USD is not unusual. If load is placed on the bike incorrectly, they will break. In fact, should cyclists have to pay extra to transport their bikes? What about golf clubs?
Bikes are substantially larger than a violin (we are talking about small musical instruments here, not large ones like cellos, for instance). There is no reason why fragile and expensive sporting equipment of small size used by professional athletes should be treated differently from small, fragile and expensive musical instruments used by professional musicians. It does not follow that the same shoud apply to larger items, still less that it should be free of charge.
While I understand the disappointment of the ICM, I must say that the way they phrase their disappointment as outrage as if something was owed to them is rather unpleasant and certainly weakens their case.