Sold-Out Recital Canceled When Air Canada Denies Paid Seat to Sheku Kanneh-Mason's Cello

December 15, 2024, 3:02 PM · Air Canada's refusal to accommodate a cello with a paid seat forced the last-minute cancellation of a sold-out recital Wednesday in Toronto by the popular British brother-and-sister musicians Isata and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Pianist Isata and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Photo by James Hole.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason was traveling with the 1700 Goffriller cello that he plays on indefinite loan, an instrument valued at more than $3.2 million. He and his sister, pianist Isata are two of seven musical siblings from Nottingham, England who play the piano, cello or violin. Their recital, a stop on a North American tour that concludes tonight with an appearance at Carnegie Hall, featured sonatas by Mendelssohn, Fauré and Poulenc.

The two were on their way to Toronto after performing a recital for Chamber Music Cincinnati in Ohio, as part of their North American tour. During their travels a flight was cancelled, then delayed, then they were denied boarding with the cello, despite having a paid seat for the instrument.

"We were deeply saddened not to be able to perform for you at Koerner Hall last night," Sheku posted on his Instagram page. "We had severe misfortune with the flights and tried our very best to reach you. First we had delays, then a cancellation, and the day concluded by being denied boarding with the cello - despite having a confirmed seat for it - on a new, final flight into Toronto. After nine anxious hours at the airport, we realised our journey wasn’t going to be possible."

In a statement issued to the CBC a spokesperson for Air Canada said that "in this case, the customers made a last-minute booking due to their original flight on another airline being cancelled. We are still reviewing what happened including why the cello was not successfully rebooked."

The Royal Conservatory has rescheduled their recital for June 3, 2025. (details here.)

"We can only dream of a time when all airlines have a standardised, global and carefully considered approach to the carriage of precious instruments that are booked to travel in the cabin," Kanneh-Mason said.

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Will Wilkin

December 15, 2024 at 09:24 PM · So...was the cello actually booked for the flight or not? This article quotes Sheku Kanneh-Mason as saying he was "denied boarding with the cello - despite having a confirmed seat for it - on a new, final flight into Toronto." In total contradiction, the article also quotes an Air Canada spokesman as saying "We are still reviewing what happened including why the cello was not successfully rebooked." So what REALLY happened?

I've read enough such stories to have decided to never take an instrument along on air travel. If the event is too far to drive, I won't go at all.

Stan Yates

December 15, 2024 at 10:33 PM · They must have been so rushed with the previous flight cancellation that they didn't have the chance to read Brian Yoon's extraordinary "Travelling with a cello as cabin baggage on Air Canada" guide, https://brianyooncello.com/2019/07/26/travelling-with-a-cello-as-cabin-baggage-on-air-canada-a-guide/.

Based on that it appears there is a lot of rigamarole with carrying a cello onto an Air Canada flight (e.g. "The NET"), and that Air Canada is the only Canadian airline that even allows bringing a cello on board as cabin baggage.

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Sold-Out Recital Canceled When Air Canada Denies Paid Seat to Sheku Kanneh-Mason's Cello

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