Winnipeg-based acrobat fed up with airline, airports in lost-baggage three-ring circus

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This article was published 20/03/2024 (560 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A world-travelling circus performer is jumping through hoops after a distinct piece of his baggage was lost by WestJet with no word on when, or if, it will be returned.

Winnipegger Daniel Craig and his wife were returning from a string of cruise ship performances on March 6 and caught the last flight back to Winnipeg from Toronto.

The pair landed at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport just after midnight. His equipment, however, did not make the same trip.

Craig, who has been a performing acrobat for nearly two decades, lost his Cyr wheel, a large circular metal apparatus used by acrobats during performances to spin, roll, leap and glide across the floor.

“It’s not something that you can just go to Canadian Tire and replace,” Craig said Tuesday from Flin Flon, where he is teaching circus skills in a program that takes him to remote and northern communities.

The Cyr, when disassembled, is five curved metal rods, each about a metre in length. They were bundled together, shrink-wrapped and tagged before Craig set it down on the oversized baggage conveyor belt at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

While his initial contacts with attendants were helpful, Craig said the response has become apathetic; he’s written to both airports and WestJet, sent photos and descriptions of the lost item, but has experienced mostly finger-pointing.

“That’s really the frustrating part, is that I know it’s just sitting somewhere in a room,” he said.

The day after his flight from Toronto, Craig travelled to Japan for a string of performances. When he returned nine days later, he checked in with the airline at both airports, but there was still no news on the equipment.

“There was no word. No updates on our file and nothing from customer support,” he said.

“To me, it’s like a musician losing their prized guitar, there’s a history and a feeling and a sentiment behind it.”

He’s had the custom-built Cyr — which he named Alexandra — since he went through circus school in New England 15 years ago and has used it during performances across the globe.

Craig set a Guinness World Record for the longest-duration spinning in a Cyr (named after an acrobat named Daniel Cyr) wheel at 40 minutes and eight seconds.

Luckily, Craig didn’t need it for his trip to Japan, but planned to use it in other international performances coming up in the next few days. He spent more than $2,000 having a replacement rushed to him.

A WestJet spokesperson declined an interview, instead referring the Free Press to the airline’s delayed, lost or damaged baggage policy, which states that passengers flying within North or South America can claim up to $100 for the first 48 hours for delayed baggage. After 48 hours, travellers can claim a further $150.

Passengers with baggage deemed lost or damaged can claim approximately $2,300, unless a higher value was declared in advance.

As a frequent flyer — he can count his time spent at home in hours so far in 2024 — Craig understands bags get misplaced or lost, but says his equipment has been missing for an unreasonable amount of time.

“It’s a very unique, one-of-a-kind piece of luggage… it just makes me think that people aren’t really trying that hard,” he said.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca