A musician has hit out at Qantas for damaging his ‘handcrafted’ double bass worth $13,000 right before he was due to perform at the Perth Fringe Festival.
Mark Elton travelled from Melbourne to Perth for the gig checking the instrument in as an oversized baggage with stickers market ‘fragile’ on the case.
But when the muso of more than 30 years opened up the bag when he arrived, he noticed large cracks in the wood.
‘Hey @qantas! Thanks for a very depressing start to my month of shows at @fringeworldperth 2024,’ he posted to Instagram along with images of the damage.
‘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.
Mark Elton posted to his Instagram account on Monday that the instrument’s damage was too extensive and ‘smashed beyond repair’, writing it needed to be replaced
Mark Elton travelled to Perth for his gig when he noticed ‘unusual’ damage to his beloved instrument
The musician who was set to perform a month of shows at the Perth Fringe festival, said the double bass looked like it had been ‘dropped from a considerable height’, blaming the baggage handlers
‘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.’
With a month of shows lined up and way to get a tune out of his double bass, fellow musicians rallied to his support with WA Symphony Orchestra double bassist and luthier Andrew Tait, loaning him an instrument.
Qantas have since responded to the complaint and checked CCTV to find out what happened.
The airline there is no evidence of damage to the case in transit, but did offered a goodwill payment.
‘We know how important it is to handle all luggage with care, including musical instruments,’ Qantas said in a statement.
Cracks in the instrument are pictured
The case the instrument was in was also damaged. Social media followers were shocked by the photos of the damage Mr Elton shared, with many calling the incident ‘heartbreaking’
‘We are concerned to hear that the double bass has been damaged and we have been actively investigating what has happened with our ground handling partners since we were first notified on Tuesday.’
Social media users were shocked by the photos calling the incident ‘heartbreaking’ for a performer.
‘That is out of control!!! How on earth did they create this amount of damage?’ one wrote.
‘Our instruments are our babies, hope there’s a swift and satisfying outcome,’ said another.