String Quartet posts sarcastic ‘thank you’ video to British Airways after airline loses their luggage

19 December 2017, 13:09 | Updated: 19 December 2017, 13:18

The Chiaroscuro Quartet decided to hit back at the airline after their luggage was delayed – and they chose the perfect musical way to do

Violinists Alina Ibragimova and Pablo Hernan Benedi, cellist Claire Thirion and viola player Emilie Hörnlund arrived for a recording session… but their luggage did not arrive with them.

The quartet received a call a week later saying their luggage had been sent to them.

But it turned out that the luggage had been sent to two different addresses – neither of which were correct.

In their video response the quartet play a string quartet arrangement of Delibes’ Flower Duet, which was famously used by British Airways in their adverts.

A sarcastic voiceover explains:

“The Chiaroscuro Quartet loves British Airways, the world-famous Chiaroscuro Quartet has just heard the wonderful news that their luggage has been located – and after only a week too!

“And nothing was too much trouble for BA. How very kind it was, these fine instrumentalists thought, of British Airways to send their baggage to two addresses just in case one was wrong. Even if both were.

“How considerate it was too, to be told that their file was closed, ahead of the bags turning up anywhere.”

They're not the only musicians to have had a bad experience with BA. Trumpeter Alison Balsom tweeted about British Airways's musical instruments policy today calling it a "disgrace": 

That’s it, I’m done @British_Airways - we’ve all been so patient with the lowering standards but not to let professional musicians bring on their (small) instruments as hand baggage? We take hundreds of thousands of flights -it’s our living. A greedy disgrace.

— Alison Balsom (@alisonbalsom) December 19, 2017