WHAT AIRLINES ignore, in their indefensible ban on musical instruments in seats (“What can you bring aboard? It depends,” g section, Aug. 21) is that musicians need to travel in order to play enough concerts to make a living.
Few can survive on the gigs they get within driving distance, and their reputation depends on playing in new locations. Competitions and teaching opportunities provide other unavoidable reasons to fly.
If we had bullet trains between all cities, musicians could perhaps survive without airlines (and perhaps we could even put the ones that trample customers’ needs out of business), but for now policies restricting instruments call for a regulatory clampdown.