[They are giving - or, at least, planning to give - concerts in Davies Hall
Sunday and Monday.]

   'Rowdy' Russians Ordered Off Plane

   By Carol D. Leonnig
   Washington Post Staff Writer
   Tuesday, February 19, 2002; Page B03

   About 100 members of a Russian orchestra traveling from Amsterdam to
   Los Angeles were ordered off a plane at Dulles International Airport
   yesterday following crew complaints that they had been drunk and
   disorderly on the first leg of the journey.

   United Airlines Flight 947 sat at its gate at Dulles last night for
   about 90 minutes after it was scheduled to take off for the second
   leg, while airline representatives tried to impress some "rules of
   conduct" upon the leaders of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, United
   officials said.  Ultimately, airline officials said, the pilot and
   crew decided that the group was not taking United's rules seriously
   and decided to remove the entire group from the flight.

   "Our crew said they continued to be disruptive," said Susana Leyva,
   a United spokeswoman in Chicago.  "That's it for us."

   Los Angeles-bound passengers taking the second leg of the trip had
   waited in confusion from about 5:30 to 6:30 p.m, until the pilot
   reported over the intercom that "the Russians have to be removed"
   from the plane.  Baggage handlers took the group's luggage and
   instruments out of the cargo hold, and the plane took off about 7:10
   p.m.

   According to Leyva, the rowdiness of a large portion of the troupe
   made the eight-hour transatlantic trip from Amsterdam to Dulles
   difficult for the crew and uncomfortable for other passengers.  The
   group refused to sit down when told to, talked loudly and tossed
   objects around, she said.

   "The group was misbehaving, inebriated, opening their own bottles of
   alcohol, rowdy and nonresponsive to the crew," Leyva said.  "I want
   to apologize to the passengers on the Amsterdam leg who had to put
   up with that and the passengers on the L.A.  portion who were delayed."

   The St. Petersburg Philharmonic was traveling to a performance
   scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, home
   of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Late last night, the group was
   trying to find hotel accommodations near Dulles, and its members
   could not be located for comment.  United officials agreed to book
   the group on flights leaving for Los Angeles today but declined to
   pay for its overnight stay in the Dulles area.

   The orchestra was formed in 1882 and is Russia's oldest symphony
   orchestra.  It was known for many years as the Leningrad Philharmonic
   and was once revered for its close ties with composer Dmitri
   Shostakovich, until his death in 1975.

   The orchestra changed its name in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet
   Union.  It is now led by Russian conductor Yuri Temirkanov, who is
   also music director of the Baltimore Symphony.

Janos Gereben/SF
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