Cellist turned away from Air Canada flight after his instrument wasn't allowed to board
A cellist's quick trip from Baltimore to Montreal turned into a two-day odyssey after Air Canada refused to let him bring his instrument on the plane. This despite the fact that he had paid full fare for a second seat specifically for the instrument, crafted in 1695 and worth over a million dollars, to fly with him.
Article content
Amit Peled is an Israeli-American cellist, conductor and teacher who has performed at venues around the world and released more than a dozen recordings including The Jewish Soul and Cellobration.
Article content
Article content
Article content
He's no stranger to travelling by air with his instrument propped up in the seat next to him. 'Almost every week of my life,' he told National Post in an interview 'That's what I do. In the last 30 years, I've been traveling all over the world.'
Article content
Article content
This week he was on his way to the Orford Music Festival near Sherbrooke, Que., where he was due to perform and also teach a class. But after driving from his home in Baltimore to the airport in Philadelphia, he was told by an Air Canada employee that his cello couldn't board the plane.
Article content
He was flabbergasted. He'd had issues before — often because his musical companion doesn't have a passport — but they've generally been solved at the airport.
Article content
'However, this time in Philadelphia, the lady at the counter said: You can't bring the cello with you because it was not named the right way in the computer.'
Article content
He said the employee informed him that she could make a change but that it would cost $700. 'And I said, well, I already paid a full-price ticket. And here it is. It's right here in front of you. You can see it. And she said: I'm really sorry.'
Article content
Peled decided to go through to the gate anyway, hoping someone there would help him, but he was given the same answer. 'Everybody goes on the plane, and I told her, I'm going to miss my flight, and thus I'm going to not be in the festival where I have to teach and play,' he said. 'She didn't care. And then, of course, the door closed and I missed the flight.'
Article content
Article content
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Amit Peled (@amitpeledcellist)
Article content
Angry and stranded, Peled shot a short video in front of the gate, showing his cello and suitcase and explaining his plight.
Article content
Article content
'I have a full class of students waiting for me there from all over the world,' he says in the video, posted to social media. 'I have my cello ticket, my ticket, and just here at the gate I'm denied entrance because the procedure to ride for the cello was not right on the computer.'
Article content
He ends by saying: 'I'm really really sorry and I hope to be able to teach the students on Zoom. I can't perform on Zoom but I'll teach them on Zoom. I'm going home and never ever ever fly Air Canada again.'
Article content
Peled then called his daughter to pick him up for the two-hour drive back to Baltimore. But as he got home, his phone rang. 'I get a phone call from somebody from Air Canada, and I'm shocked. And that person is in charge of customer service, calling me,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fans reel after successive deaths of Hulk Hogan, Ozzy Osbourne and other celebrities
CHICAGO (AP) — Kevin Huigens wipes away tears as he gazes upon the statue of Cubs' legend Ryne Sandberg outside Chicago's famed Wrigley Field. Flowers, Cubs caps, American flags and — of course — baseballs, litter the base and the ground beneath. 'I believed in him,' said Huigens, 68, of nearby Berwyn. 'He made being a Cubs fan enjoyable.' Sandberg, who had cancer, died Monday. 'But he's here in sprit, and he's going to lift up our Cubs even if he's not here physically,' Jessie Hill, 44, said, wearing a Cubs cap and jersey. Social media is swamped with outpourings of love, regret and sadness at the death of Sandberg and other cherished celebrities who died this month. The Cosby Show star Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 54, drowned in Costa Rica on July 20. Two days later, legendary heavy metal and reality show star Ozzy Osbourne, who had Parkinson's disease, died at age 76. Jazz musician Chuck Mangione also died July 22 in his sleep at age 84. Then, on Thursday, former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, was pronounced dead at a hospital after a cardiac arrest. He was 71. 'A loss you can share with everybody' When celebrity deaths come in quick succession, 'if nothing else, it reminds people of their own mortality,' said Robert Thompson, a professor of television and pop culture at Syracuse University. 'The people who were a central part of the culture of the 1980s are getting to that age when biology has its way,' said Thompson, 65. 'When it happens in these big chunks, it becomes even more powerful.' Hogan, Warner and Sandberg were introduced to millions of people as television's popularity exploded during the 1980s. Mangione's trumpet and flügelhorn were staples on smooth jazz radio stations during the 1970s and into the 1980s. Osbourne's career spanned multiple decades, from the 1970s, when his band, Black Sabbath, dominated the heavy metal scene, through the 2000s, when his family dominated reality TV with 'The Osbournes.' 'The silver lining about celebrities is they continue to exist for us exactly as they did before' Thompson said, because we can continue to listen to their music or watch their TV shows even after they die. 'When you lose a grandparent or an uncle it's sad and you grieve with your family,' he continued. 'But it's a private kind of thing. When a celebrity dies, it's a loss you can share with everybody.' Eternal fans Robert Livernois, 59, said he grew up an Osbourne fan. He lives in Birmingham — not the gritty city in the English Midlands where Ozzy was born and raised, but a tony city in suburban Detroit. 'I loved his music. I never subscribed to any of the theatrics,' said Livernois, a radio show host. Osbourne famously bit off the head of a bat during a live performance. Robert West, 40, produces content for The Wrestling Shop in San Antonio. He said he lost two icons within days when Osbourne and Hogan died. He learned of Hogan's death through a text from a friend. 'It's almost like the last bits of my childhood is almost gone,' West said. 'I think he was part of everyone's life.' Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Hogan was a pioneer in the wrestling and entertainment industries, having a similar impact to that of Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson in music, West added. Twenty-three-year-old Indigo Watts is a Black Sabbath and heavy metal fan who was working at Flipside Records, a store in Berkley just north of Detroit, when he learned his hero had died. 'Some guy came in and before he left he asked 'Have you heard about Ozzy?'' Watts said. 'As soon as he said, it my heart just sank.' He said the recent celebrity deaths remind him of a dark period in 2016 when the world lost music legends Prince and David Bowie. 'I was still young, but that hit me like a truck,' Watts said. 'When you're a celebrity and you die, you leave an impact on the world.'
CBC
4 hours ago
- CBC
How well does the show Washington Black capture Nova Scotia?
Social Sharing Esi Edugyan's novel Washington Black is a modern Canadian classic. Set in the 19th century, the epic story follows a young boy named George Washington Black who is born on a Barbados sugar plantation. He has an exceptionally sharp mind that leads him on an adventure around the world, to places like Virginia, Halifax, and even the Arctic. The book was released in 2018 to critical acclaim, including a Giller Prize win. Now, it's been adapted into a TV show — but not by a Canadian production company. The Hulu original series is available to watch in Canada on Disney+. Today on Commotion, culture critic El Jones and TV producer Floyd Kane join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the new series, and what it gets right (and wrong) about Black Canadian history. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Elamin: You are both Nova Scotians. This series is largely shot in Nova Scotia, Halifax, Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg. El, as a professor, what grade would you give the show in terms of its depiction of African Nova Scotian history? El: What I do like is that Halifax is portrayed as at the centre of the world…. We often don't think of ourselves as central to global Blackness, and that is a beautiful thing. At the same time, as I think Floyd's about to get to as well, there's some historical difficulties — perhaps starting with the idea that we were the last stop on the Underground Railroad. I think that's a pretty loose interpretation of how Black people actually came to Halifax, most of which was not through the Underground Railroad. Elamin: Those are the first words you hear in the show, right? El: Yes, so I think it's simplified for an American audience, which is a shame because the history of Black journey into Halifax is actually a very wide-ranging and interesting one. And then of course — I know Floyd is gonna say this, so I don't wanna steal his thunder — but the accents are very American. It would be nice to actually see what is African Nova Scotia: the specific accents, the specific way of being that is unique to the nation that is Nova Scotia. Because they obviously want to universalize it and perhaps sell it into an American market, they want to kind of use the frame of, "Oh, it's Canada, this place of freedom," — but not actually give us the substantiveness that is Black Canada. So we end up— which by the way, when we were talking about 40 Acres, we kind of see the same thing: that often, we have these productions— Elamin: 40 Acres is the movie that we talked about a few weeks ago. El: —that will be set in Canada, yeah, but then really want to vibe [as] American just so it doesn't seem too Canadian. I think we see that here as well. Elamin: Floyd, you know, El didn't want to steal your thunder, so let us hand you your thunder. Do you think the show would feel different if a Canadian had made it? Would there be a different kind of sensitivity there? Floyd: I haven't read the book, but one of the things that I felt watching the TV show is that … he felt all of these things happen to him as a child.... It didn't always feel like those things were with him, if that makes sense? I feel like if Canadians made this, there probably would have been a bit more of that heaviness with him. But also, I have to say as a Nova Scotian and as a Canadian, I would have loved to have seen more of the geography of where those Black communities were actually settled. There's some amazing photography in this limited series, just incredible…. In some cases I'm like, "Wow, this would have played great in a movie theatre." But I did kind of feel like when the Black characters were on-screen and in-community, I would have loved to have actually been in one of those communities, depicting what life was like in those communities at that time. It is very hard to get Canadian history on camera. Having an opportunity to tell Black Canadian history, it's five times as hard.
Montreal Gazette
6 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry spotted having dinner at Le Violon in Montreal
Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and American pop star Katy Perry dined at Le Violon in the Plateau Monday night, The Gazette has confirmed. An employee at Le Violon described the two as 'very nice.' They also said the two sat at a table near the bar. When asked if it looked like they were on a date, the employee answered: 'I don't know.' American celebrity website TMZ first reported on the dinner with exclusive footage, where the pair are seen chatting through the bar's mirror. View this post on Instagram A post shared by TMZ (@tmz_tv) Perry is in the country on her Lifetimes Tour, but took a slight detour to be in Montreal. The 40-year-old Teenage Dream singer is set to perform at the Bell Centre on Wednesday, but performs Tuesday in Ottawa at Canadian Tire Centre. TMZ also said an eyewitness told the publication the two 'sipped cocktails and shared several dishes ... including one with lobster,' and that security guards were present. TMZ also posted photos of Trudeau and Perry walking around the Ritz-Carlton. Check out these pics TMZ snagged -- Justin Trudeau could. not. stop grinning as he strolled with Katy Perry down Montreal's Mount Royal park on Monday More: — TMZ (@TMZ) July 29, 2025 On Monday, Trudeau posted footage on Instagram of his trip to Switzerland with his son Xavier. The latter has a budding music career of his own, under the name Xav. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Justin Trudeau (@justinpjtrudeau) Earlier this month, Perry confirmed that she split with actor Orlando Bloom after being engaged for six years. In 2023, Trudeau announced that he and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau were separating after 18 years of marriage. Le Violon was awarded a recommendation in the inaugural Michelin Guide for Quebec. This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 11:36 AM.
