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Trip Notes: Tami Neilson on what to see in Nashville
A New Zealand-based musician took to Twitter last week after three different airlines lost or damaged her guitar while on tour.
Canadian-born country music star Tamara Neilson proved that even the most famous and talented can’t escape airport woes.
In a Twitter post on August 26 the musician vented her frustration about how airlines had treated her guitar while touring overseas.
After flying into Singapore’s Changi Airport with Singapore Airlines, Neilson realised a peg had been broken off.
That may not have been too irritating if it wasn’t the second replacement guitar Neilson had to buy. According to the artist, her first guitar was lost after flying with Air Canada, and her second was lost after flying with Qantas.
“In the past month, @aircanada lost my guitar and I had to replace it, @qantas then lost the replacement, now @SingaporeAir has broken this 2nd replacement,” Neilson wrote.
“Touring right now is a nightmare. This is what the artists you love are going through to try and perform shows.”
In the past month, @aircanada lost my guitar and I had to replace it, @qantas then lost the replacement, now @SingaporeAir has broken this 2nd replacement. Touring right now is a nightmare. This is what the artists you love are going through to try and perform shows. Fuck. pic.twitter.com/08QgxN3xW7
Dozens of people commented on the tweet to express irritation on behalf of the artist, as well as their thoughts on luggage systems and suggestions on how it happened.
A user called @twtsongbird commented, saying the system was the issue.
“From what I have seen, luggage gets accumulated without security, easy to steal, and the system tells them luggage with tag number x is lost, please find it, no description no picture,” they wrote.
Considering how hardy guitar cases are, one user commented to ask how the peg possibly broke off.
“If @SingaporeAir broke the tuning peg, what did the case look like!?!” wrote Timothy Conroy Magnuson. “Or did they drop it, while ‘inspecting’ it, and just snuck it back into the case?”
Neilson responded, saying she thought it was the latter.
The artist also shared a tip for flying during ‘airmageddon’; packing only carry-on.
“My Mom used to have a rule when I was growing up in our 30-foot motorhome, touring with our family band: ‘If you buy anything, you have to be able to wear it or eat it’,” she said in the video posted to Instagram.
Unfortunately, the airlines required the guitar to be checked in, resulting in transit damage.
Singapore Airlines responded to the original tweet and asked if Neilson had lodged a report at the airport. They then said a relevant department would reach out directly.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience in the interim.”
Things ended on a happy note for the musician, whose guitar peg was fixed by a technician at the music festival she was en route to, in Denmark.
“The kindness of strangers to the rescue,” Neilson wrote in a follow-up tweet, which included a photo of her and a music technician from the Norwegian band Madrugada, who fixed her guitar.
GUITAR UPDATE: The kindness of strangers to the rescue ??♥️ Thank you Eric of the @madrugadamusic crew! pic.twitter.com/NEdQSwa9nQ