Alva Review-Courier -

Two things in my past experiences led me to write this particular article. One is that over the years I have had several less-than-pleasant experiences with various airline companies.

The other factor is that I grew up in a time when “protest” songs were popular, and I came to appreciate how songs with a “message” can to some extent have an effect on what people think or believe.

This story is about a man who had a legitimate dispute with an airline. When the company refused to do anything about his grievance, he wrote a song that became an internet sensation.

The song generated so much bad (but well-deserved) publicity for the airline that the company not only decided to take another look at his complaint but also to change its policies to avoid similar embarrassing incidents in the future.

The man involved in the dispute with the airline company is David Carroll. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is the co-founder of a folk-rock band called the Sons of Maxwell.

In March 2008, Sons of Maxwell band members flew on United Airlines from Halifax to Omaha for a week-long engagement. They had to change planes in Chicago.

While sitting on the plane in Chicago, the band members and other passengers looked out the windows and noticed United’s baggage handlers throwing their guitars around without regard for the fact that they were valuable and delicate musical instruments.

When the band got to Omaha, Carroll discovered that his $3,500 guitar had been severely damaged. He decided to file a claim for reimbursement with United Airlines.

For several months, Carroll tried to get some satisfaction from the airline company to no avail. He made numerous phone calls, showed his damaged guitar to company representatives, and filled out all kinds of claim forms.

After several months of getting the run-around from United Airlines officials, Carroll decided to write a protest song about his less-than-pleasant experiences with the company. We will see what happened next in Part 2 of this story.