Violinist Rachell Ellen Wong Warns Against Norse Airways

Wong has warned against the airline after her violin was reportedly refused entry into the cabin despite the airline’s instrument-friendly regulations 

The award-winning violinist Rachell Ellen Wong has shared her experience with Norse Airways on her social media as she was set to fly to Paris with her violin earlier this week. 

“Musicians, beware: do NOT fly with Norse,” she began in her post. She went on to explain that she had booked a flight to France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport and paid for priority boarding, “specifically so I could bring my violin as my carry-on, just as their website says is allowed.”

“But when I got to the airport, the check-in agent smiled and shook her head: not allowed, she said. I showed her the Norse policy, she still refused. I explained that this is a valuable instrument that can’t be checked or it could break. Her response? It would be possibly allowed if it was in a soft case, or pay $175.

“I paid it, only to be told I’d just paid $175 to check my violin under the plane,” she continued. “When I asked if I could carry the violin without the case in my carry-on bag, they still pushed back. Their ‘solution’ was to buy another seat, but even then, no guarantee it would be allowed.

“With no safe option, I had to walk away from the flight. I’ve never had an issue with any airline before this. And sadly, I have another Norse flight booked next month, guess I won’t be flying that either. This was honestly infuriating and ultimately left me grounded. Musicians: steer clear. Norse does not respect your instruments, your time, or their own policies.”

This incident mirrors many in the past that have affected traveling professional musicians on airlines including Norwegian Air, Ryanair, QANTAS, American Airlines. The International Federation of Musicians has since created an Airline ‘traffic light’ tool — a rating system based on how accommodating airlines’ cabin policies are for musical instruments.