[PP Flyer]

Having read this carefully, and obviously sympathising with the disabled passenger, I don’t think the crew acted out of place. They were clearly in a difficult situation and had to think outside the box to resolve it.
I think the 2 main issues here are firstly that BA should reword the Club Europe description on their website. Currently states they leave the middle seat free. They really should have an asterix there with a footnote stating they reserve the right to utilise the middle seat in exceptional circumstances. And secondly, as one of the above posters has pointed out, this raises serious safety issues. If there had been an emergency on that flight, it sounds like ahmrbond would potentially have been trapped, which surely is partly in breach of an airline’s policy on safety.

Will be interesting to see what other regular posters think about this.

1 user thanked author for this post.

CheerUp

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

“objected to the way in which it was done and a clearly undesirable and obnoxious person being put in it” ..
I Never said an anything derogatory about the other clients. Turns out she was pleasant enough and even tried to turn down the service saying she’s not supposed to be sitting there. I just didn’t get the space as booked, nor promised on the website and the whole thing was mishandled, especially now! The crew thanked me on the way out and told me they will file in the log so never pushed them for anything else. What should I have done? Take a bleedin’ selfie with these pax?!!!!
The other pax even suggested that THEY had been messed about and will be writing in. Trust me, there are more notes on this flight flying around than everything else put together that left that day.

[AllOverTheGaff]

[postquote quote=980582][/postquote]

If the crew were placed in a difficult position, it seems it was because the disabled gentleman booked a business class seat for himself and an economy one for his carer, fully in the knowledge that he would ask at the gate / check-in if his carer could sit beside him. It is reverse discrimination, all the disabled laws are for equal rights and I am all for this! The key word is equal.

Let me give you an example. I am flying with my daughter on the same route, I buy a business class seat for me and an economy seat for the fruit of my loins, I ask at the gate for an upgrade and the agent allows her to sit in the middle seat beside Mr Bond, many of you are saying this is ok in the case of the disabled chap, but would it be ok in my case? If the answer is no, then you are treating the disabled passenger differently due to his circumstances, try doing that with a person of colour or a woman and you might find yourself facing some serious charges, so actually, the disabled chap was treated entirely differently due to his circumstances.

I am 100% sympathetic with Mr Bond, whilst it isn’t the end of the world, he paid for a product which BA did not deliver. They’ve then gone on to deny it even happened, makes me wonder aloud why on earth anyone bothers when we all know this is how they operate. It is not Mr Bond’s fault the disabled chap didn’t buy his carer the correct ticket, it isn’t the airlines fault, but they changed the rules for him because of his disability to suit him which is very unfair and as I understand it, illegal.

Rgds.
AOTG.

7 users thanked author for this post.

Catalina, Jacob, AFlyingDutchman, BugAdvisor, mkcol74, Blanicka, LuganoPirate

[Otte]

It’s really amazing how BA takes so much time and effort to investigate complaints just to tell you it’s your fault.I can’t understan that CS approach.
The customer was obviously mistreated, the airline should just apologize without taking responsibility and give him so called good will comp.End of story.ISO that they waste time and energy on angering a customer that is already upset.
Why make a bad situation worse?
There is some super ego involved in BA’s complaints handling.
For example, when I complaint about flying Club from MIA to LHR in an old and tatty B747, no lights, no IFE and more…obvious situation that req service recovery.
Instead they give me a long bla bla about BA getting their fleer renewed with the A350 etc.
What do I care about the upcoming A350? Just comp me for the miserable experience u charged a lot for and didn’t deliver!
No! They will argue and come up with every strange story to negate your complaint.
As J Rivers RIP use to say ” Oh ,grow up”!
But BA insists on remaining petty/ childish whilst penny pinching and grabbing your hard earned money without any respect.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ah,Mr.Bond

[nevereconomy]

This is very definitely the situation where one sucks it up and thanks whatever is up there to be fit and able to climb over the other passenger and welcomes the fact that they have a companion traveler to watch out for them. 4 hours is insignificant inconvenience in a lifetime.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ekond222

[MartynSinclair]

Interesting how we would each view this position. From my perspective, I think I would have just accepted it if I bought my seat via avios and if the flight was less than an hour.

However, if I had paid significant money for a club seat – I think I would have taken a different view. Often I work on a flight and the spare middle seat does afford some privacy when working on private papers or a lap top.

Perhaps if there had been a free row of 3 in economy, which there may have been, perhaps the 2 passengers would have had more room there.

[SwissExPat]

It seems that Mr Bond did not get the “product” that was advertised (i.e a club Europe service where one of the benefits is that the middle seat is purposely left free). It seems that BA is denying his claim that he did not recive the product advertised to him and which he purchased. If BA continues this claim, then it would be best solved by a claim in the small claims court and let a judge decide who to believe. I also believe that his suggestion of a 22k avios ex gratia credit is very reasonable in the circumstances. I also assume from the description that other CE PAX on this flight were not affected, hence my question would be “Why he was chosen to be the PAX in CE would would be affected?”

Also it seems that the he may also have a GDPR issue with the data BA is holding on him.

My guess is that this type of occurrece will continue at airlines until it is challenged.

IMHO..

2 users thanked author for this post.

Catalina, EU_Flyer

[GivingupBA]

SwissExPat, me too. If I do not get the product I have paid for, whether it be a hotel room, a meal, or an airline seat/ class, I want to be given either a satisfactory substitute or satisfactory compensation.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

The problem appears to be that this woman’s upgrade was done onboard, jumping into the middle seat after I had climbed in. It clearly had been done under the radar and is not showing in the system, or even logged, which I was told it was, so the simpleton in customer services can’t see anything. I have advised BA that due to the very severe nature of the other pax disability, and supposed cockup, that there are more notes flying around relating to this flight than all other flights put together that day… to find them and a manager get back to me. All has gone silent.
Yes, things could be worse and this is hardly the end of the world if that’s the view you want to take, but generosity, sympathy and patience were very clearly expected and exploited by the couple and crew. What ever their situation is its not my business.I paid for club Europe, they clearly state the middle seat is blocked in this cabin,and on my flight it wasn’t in my row only. I was targeted as being the only solo pax in the cabin. All I requested was acknowledgment of the situation and appropriate response.

4 users thanked author for this post.

Catalina, AFlyingDutchman, GivingupBA, ASK1945

[LuganoPirate]

Reading this I can clearly see and understand AhMrBond’s frustration in getting no satisfactory response from BA. And I doubt they will give a satisfactory, or any answer to the complaint. Companies such as BA rarely do in case it opens a can of worms. The only friendly advice I can give is to put it behind you and move on. The time wasted and mounting frustration will only be to your personal detriment and well being, not BA’s. Age has taught me that sometimes it’s just not worth pushing on on principle and having better things to do with my time I shrug it off.

My own middle seat story concerned the first leg of a flight MXP-ZRH-JNB. I can’t recall the aircraft but seating was 3 x 3 and I was in 1F and being business the middle seat was kept free. The flight was very full, in fact overbooked, and having developed a sense of intuition over many years of travel, I started to put on the middle seat my Barbour, my tablets, small bag and a few other items.

Last to come on board was a mother with +- 12 month old baby, and she took the seat 1D, which has no bulkhead in front so ideal for stretching out, though I prefer a window seat and the bulkhead does not bother me. Her whole attitude was one of entitlement, the way she kept demanding things from the stewardess, who clearly frustrated by her, pointed out she was fortunate to have been upgraded to the business cabin, but as her ticket was economy she would only get the economy service and offering. This put her in her place and we took off. As soon as the seat belt light went out she turned to me, no excuse me or anything like that, just said would you move your things so my child can have that seat. My answer was equally curt, and I said no. She insisted literally ordering me to remove my things otherwise she would complain to the captain. Go ahead I said but I’ve paid a business class fare, unlike you, and if you want to put your jacket there fine, but no baby.

By now the same stewardess, who was the Purser, picked up the conversation and came over, to be told, in Swiss German, that I must remove my things for her child. The response, was to tell her I was fully entitled to put my things there as I had paid a business fare and the conditions of the ticket for the child was that there is no seat for the child. Further, if she prefers, she will find another passenger in Economy, bring them forward and she can take that seat. That shut her up completely apart from the glare I got when it came to disembark, and she was not allowed on the small business bus either.

13 users thanked author for this post.

Catalina, ASK1945, AFlyingDutchman, Ah,Mr.Bond, BugAdvisor, Jacob, MartynSinclair, EU_Flyer, SimonS1, TupeloKid, GivingupBA, esselle, mkcol74

[EU_Flyer]

Goodwill is important but it should be extended by the airline and not expected/demanded from another paying customer being deprived of what they’ve paid for.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Catalina, AFlyingDutchman

[Inquisitive]

About 8-9 years ago, I was very regular at BA (gold) in both short and long hauls. I used to like BA very much. Seeing various BA issues in this forum, I consider lucky that I don’t fly them nowadays.

During those days, all my holiday short hauls in economy, I used BA only for redemption trips. For paid tripes I used mostly Swiss and less frequently Lufthansa and Finnair. I found those trips very effective, cost efficient and very reasonable waiting time in connecting airports (except frustrating long walk at Frankfurt).

Now my question is why bother using BA with such a poor service? Change the airlines at least for holiday flights.

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

Well, after my last communication, BA have kind of backed down and at least acknowledged that this matter occured and offered 12,000 Avios. A reasonable result I suppose, although I shouldn’t have had to follow up in the first place. They touched on their policy for dependent pax seating etc, guaranteeing they will find space together-regardless. Fair enough if all is booked correctly, but the other passengers will also be well aware of this policy. As a result, I severely doubt if this was their debut at this sort of thing. As PP flyer mentioned, perhaps an asterisk on their website wouldn’t go a miss highlighting that the blocked middle seat cannot always be provided as currently stated.

3 users thanked author for this post.

Catalina, LuganoPirate, mkcol74

[SimonS1]

I gather in the recent strike disruption BA also used the middle seats in CE. Did travellers get compensated proactively by BA…..you guess…..

[canucklad]

Warning Ah, Mr Bond – this is a salt in the wound comment…..

A few months ago. my mates & I ,decided to escape watching Hearts in the SPFL for a weekend and watch Bilbao play instead. EDI to Seville return for £30.99 return was a no brainer.

Yesterday on the return flight I ended up in 1D , middle seat empty and a dead heading pilot in 1F . My tablet on the middle tray , watching a couple of downloads , enjoying a couple of bottles of very good Rioja (£10) with attentive and pleasant crew ……. My experience yesterday would have shamed BA’s CE service and at a fraction of the cost ,albeit a bit of a fluke with the random selection that FR adopts

[Author]

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