Alistair Hulett's latest newsletter posted on Folk Alliance Australia list today.

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From: a.hulett
Sent: Friday, 16 February 2007 02:04
To: a.hulett
Subject: The Gallow's Rant Update - BA's New Baggage Regs



The Gallow's Rant

February Update – A Bitter Complaint ON BA'S NEW BAGGAGE REGS


Last week British Airways announced changes to its regulations in regard to
checked baggage that will have a significant impact on musicians who use the
airline for their professional work. From February 13th, all passengers who
are checking in more than one item of luggage will have to pay £120 per
extra item, even if the combined weight is under the new weight limit of
23kg.



This means a touring musician like myself, travelling to Australia from
Britain on tour will need to add another £240 to our prepaid ticket cost, to
carry my instrument and a suitcase, even if the combined weight of these is
under the stipulated limit.


Sporting equipment such as skis, golf clubs and surfboards are exempt from
this charge but musical instruments are not. At least that is what the BA
website currently appears to say. The 'official position' from employees and
management alike, however, is divided and confused - as I recently
discovered when I sought clarification from British Airways.


On February 13th I rang Customer Services at BA and was told that Terminal 4
desk-staff at Heathrow were divided 50/50 over whether or not to allow
musical instruments on without charge, as de facto sporting equipment.
Fronting at the check-in desk to try potluck means risking paying the full
levy instead of receiving a 30% reduction for buckling in advance and
coughing up the charge before arriving at the airport. This was the best
information customer services were able to provided at the present time
(13/01/07).


The agent I spoke to eventually gave me the telephone number for the London
office of Executives Assistants. Initially the response from the person I
contacted there was that inconsistencies like this were currently being
ironed out, and that the clause in the regulations that lists musical
instruments along with wheelchairs and baby carriers as 'allowable outsize
baggage' would probably cover travelling musicians till more specific
regulations were announced.


Along with a representative from the Musicians Union who had arrived at the
same point as me, I asked to have this clearly stated in writing but we were
both refused. After several courteous but ultimately fruitless emails had
been exchanged between the BA, the MU and myself, the Executives Assistants
Office finally referred us back to the Customer Services desk that had put
us in touch with their office in the first place.


Several hours of polite exchanges and positive trade union engagement had
produced no concrete result whatsoever. I do nevertheless have all these
emails on file and will happily pass them over to any interested parties who
want to read or distribute them. At very least, British Airways owes
professional musicians who bought air tickets from them in good faith, a
clear statement on what we will face when we arrive at the check-in desk
with our suitcase and instrument.


At present neither the management or the desk-staff at British Airways
appears able to do this with any degree of consistency. If a charge is to be
levied for two items, on musicians but not on sportspeople, then it should
at very least be waived for musicians who bought their tickets before the
changes to baggage regulations were announced. Had we been aware of the
extra costs involved, we could have negotiated our performance fees
accordingly.


I strongly urge all musicians and their audiences to contact British Airways
Customer Relations, immediately. Please register your complaint at the
disgraceful way professional artists such as we, who have provided the
airline with business over many years, are presently being treated by them.


Yours in Solidarity


Alistair Hulett


Singer, guitarist and songwriter

www.alistairhulett.com


Send letters of complaint to

Customer Relations
PO Box 5619
Sudbury
Suffolk
CO10 2PG


Also complain by telephone to BA Customer Services on 0870 850 9 850

And the BA Executives Assistants Office on 0208 476 0920 and by email via
www.ba.com


Musicians Union Members should email or phone their regional branch to
express support for the union's ongoing efforts to fairly resolve this
matter.

All musicians and those who support them should certainly avoid booking
travel arrangements with British Airways for the foreseeable future.


Today (15/2/07) I received the following message from the Glasgow Branch of
The Musicians Union

"The Musicians Union is advising all of our members not to use BA and to
maintain the embargo until such time as BA accept that musical instruments
should be added to the sporting equipment exemption."

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