Musical Victory

1 Jan 2011 - Australian airline Qantas had a rough 2010. On top of everything the year ended on a sour note as local musicians said that had scored a victory against Qantas after a Facebook campaign helped persuade the airline to scrap a ban on carrying instruments as cabin luggage. Jazz saxophonist Jamie Oehlers started the online protest when Qantas introduced a policy requiring all musical instruments except violins and violas to be checked in and stored in the cargo hold. "After travelling with them for 20 years, I was made to check my saxophone in for the first time a few weeks ago, causing USD 1200 worth of damage.", Oehlers wrote, launching the campaign last month. More than 8,700 people joined the group, including members of the country's symphony orchestra's, posting stories and pictures of instruments that had been damaged in the cargo hold. Qantas confirmed on 24 Dec it had reversed the policy. The new policy allows small instruments as carry-on baggage, provided they are no longer than 81cm, higher than 30cm or more than 19cm deep.