$4,000 guitar roughed up
Musician’s checked-in instrument damaged on flight
KITCHENER — Kevin Ramessar had to choose what equipment to carry on and what to check in when he returned home from New York City with Air Canada on June 21.
The Kitchener musician’s decision ultimately led to a broken guitar and frustration with an airline that says it won’t fully compensate him for the damage.
Ramessar had been heading home for a break from playing lead guitar in the Broadway show, “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.” He’s been with the show since 2014. The musician is in demand across North America, which means lots of travel and lots of carrying guitars and electronics everywhere he goes.
“These are our tools of the trade, we need them,” he said. “We can’t show up with a crappy guitar. I’m not going to do a gig with a $100 guitar.”
What to carry on and what to check in is a choice every travelling musician must make, knowing they are at the mercy of baggage handlers.
“I’ve normally had good experiences with Air Canada,” Ramessar said. “You can’t take everything as part of your personal carryons; I can’t take three guitars as carry-on.”
Since he was returning home for the summer, Ramessar was bringing back all his equipment.
“I’ve been flying a couple of times a week for five or six months and normally I carry everything I can,” he said. “I have multiple guitars but I didn’t have a case for those delicate electronics.”
Those electronics included expensive microphones and foot pedals. His main guitar, a $4,000 Czech Republic-made Stonebridge acoustic, was his most valuable item. It was secured and in a rigid case so he was sure it would be OK.
The airline agent offered assurances and even slapped a couple extra fragile stickers on the case. “I already have stickers all over it and he added more,” said Ramessar.
When Ramessar arrived in Toronto, he went directly to the fragile/oversize baggage counter where such items are placed for pickup.
Ramessar’s guitar case was there but he felt uneasy and opened it immediately.
“I saw the neck, it was snapped upwards,” said Ramessar, who can’t figure out how it’s possible to destroy a guitar while the case was unscathed, short of being subjected to tremendous downward force.
“It doesn’t really have any give or bounce, it’s pretty sturdy and heavy,” he said of the case. “I’ve been flying with it since I’ve had the guitar, at least eight years, hundreds of flights. It’s a beast.”
But the beast was not enough to protect the guitar. At first, it appeared that Air Canada would compensate him fully for the damage. Ramessar said a priority desk agent called on June 22 and assured him the airline would give him replacement value for the instrument.
But he said he didn’t receive the promise in writing.
“I just kept getting form letters,” he said. “Air Canada was slow getting back to me.”
The company’s last correspondence advised Ramessar that in accordance with the federal Carriage by Air Act, airline liability for damage or loss is limited to a maximum of $2,075.47 based on current exchange rates.
Numerous attempts by The Record to speak to Air Canada spokesperson were not successful.
Ramessar has a letter from Air Canada advising him that he has the option of filing a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, but that further correspondence with the airline will not change its decision. It considers the matter closed.
Angry and frustrated by Air Canada’s response, Ramessar decided to go public. He said he knows there are other musicians who have had similar experiences.
“There are countless stories,” he said. “We’ve been racking our brains on (how to prevent damage).”
Ramessar has ordered a new neck from the manufacturer in the Czech Republic, but a repair will take time. In the meantime, the busy musician is without his beloved Stonebridge.
“The killer is, it’s going to take four months,” he said. “My hope is they can repair it.”
He is also hoping that by going public, the airline will have a change of heart.
“Air Canada has a chance to earn goodwill from musicians,” he said.