I can relate to this in a big way. Not that I’ve had any airline break anything of mine, but I’ve certainly suffered from general airline crapness. I was chatting to my mother the other day and I told her that some people go through a lifetime of regular air travel and never lose a bag and I’ve already suffered this inconvenience twice – highlighting my New York nightmare a couple years back as an add-on to this latest trip (Strengthening Ties Tour 2009 here).

“Not twice, THREE TIMES, boy!!” shrieked my mother – reminding me of when an airline lost my luggage about four years ago when I went to watch the Formula 1 in Australia.

Three times!!! Pretty radical hey?

[yes, we all know that the word for “three times” is “thrice,” but we also believe it to be a little bit OTT].

Ja, so that’s just my vibe. Others have had worse. I know for one, Air France lost all of Goldfish’s gear once and are yet to find it, let alone return it!

And speaking of musical instruments, we can now move this article very seamlessly into the next phase, which happens to be the point of the whole thing in the first place.

check out this story about an American singer who wrote a song about a nightmare he experienced with United Airlines, which turned into an internet hit!

This, from the Guardian:

Singer gets his revenge on United Airlines and soars to fame

Dave Carroll couldn’t get compensation for damage to his guitar – until he named and shamed the airline in a YouTube video

Next time an airline loses or breaks your luggage, try shaming them with a song and a video. That’s what a little-known Canadian country and western singer did after he claimed that his Taylor acoustic guitar had been damaged by baggage handlers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport last year.

United Breaks Guitars has become a YouTube sensation and provided Dave Carroll with the biggest hit of his career. The song – which chronicles his vain year-long attempt to win compensation from United – has had almost 4m hits on YouTube and fans have been clamouring for the song at gigs where his band, Sons of Maxwell, has performed.

 

 

Once the video appeared and became a YouTube hit, United sat up and took notice. It offered to pay the cost of repairing his guitar and flight vouchers worth $1,200 (£700) but he told the airline to donate the sum to charity. “They definitely want this to go away,” he said.

Sales of Sons of Maxwell’s eight albums and Carroll’s solo disc have increased from “one or two a day online to probably hundreds,” he says, thanks to the viral smash. Other airlines have offered him free trips to experience their customer service and Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars personally telephoned, offering two guitars of Carroll’s choice and props to use in a second video.

[and so it goes on – CLICK HERE for more]

That is just awesome.

ALMOST as awesome as me, writing and publishing this article whilst flying in the air between New York and LA!

I’m on American Airlines, Not United, you’ll be pleased to know..

[thanks ken]