[IanFromHKG]

I think your supposition is plausible, canucklad, but to be honest the inventiveness of lawyers (and, dare is say it, particularly American lawyers!) in finding grounds to sue knows no bounds, so I wouldn’t care to speculate

I forgot to mention in my earlier post the possible complicating factor of international treaties limiting compensation. I am not sure if the Montreal Convention still applies??

[canucklad]

You’ve made 2 comments that I’m cheekily going to take the liberty to join together, that sum up the change I’ve noticed in the legal indusrty here in the UK.

Invetiveness of lawyers (and, dare is say it, paerticularly American lawyers!) in finding grounds to sue knows no bounds and the relatively easy availability of lawyers operating on contingency fees (often 30% of damages) means that defendants are all too often incentivized to settle unmeritorious claims.
I’m so glad that the UK has strict broadcasting laws that limit the time and amount of adverts in a particular time frame When I first moved to Scotland Tony the Tiger roared through my TV screen, now it’s an avalanche of legal eagles squawking at me, reminiscent of watching Seattle TV channels back in BC.!

So sadly Ian, the UK is becoming more and more like the US, which again brings me back to me being surprised at the litigation happening in the US, but then again if your chasing a big payout for in-realty nothing then…….time to cross the pond I suppose.

[BigDog.]

It is odd that an airline can treat its passengers so abysmally yet its brand seldom gets tarnished. Is it a function of the industry as most European carriers have dirty laundry and they don’t seem to care.

[BigDog.]

@LuganoPirate – 25/05/2014 22:10 GMT From the attached (solicitor?)website it appears you can claim

http://www.bottonline.co.uk/latest-news/419-compensation-rights-for-passengers-of-ba762

From the final paras

…Unfortunately it wasn’t just the 75 passengers on flight BA 762 that were affected by this incident. There were hundreds of flights that were cancelled and delayed, affecting thousands of passengers, due to the temporary closure of the runway.

As these cancellations and delays ‘stem from events’ which were within British Airway’s control, we believe that they too will qualify for compensation of between €250 – 600. If you were a passenger on one of these flights and you wish to find out how much you are entitled to then please complete the form on our website where you will receive an instant response.

We would suggest that any passenger wishing to make a claim should first of all contact British Airways directly. Claims can be submitted online here or alternatively by post, for more information please visit this site…..

[WillieWelsh]

All I can say is that it’s good that the latest ruling makes airlines liable for mechanical failures. It was a disgrace that BA attempted to hide from an act of negligence carried out by one of its engineers and one of its pilots. I wonder are both still employed?

[BigDog.]

Have BA work practices compromised safety?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/bay/11737630/Doors-on-jet-engines-left-unlatched-on-BA-flight-investigators-find.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3160354/British-Airways-flight-forced-make-emergency-landing-Heathrow-engine-fire-tired-engineers-completed-work-WRONG-PLANE.html

…The blunder was also missed by a pilot and ground handler inspections before take off….

…Investigators also called for a ‘Fatigue Risk Management’ police to be adopted after analysis showed that the technician’s shift pattern resulted in a ‘two in five chance he experienced high levels of sleepiness’…..

From the comments

…Ultimately, some Johnnie-come-lately accountant has persuaded the board that they can save a few pounds here and there by compromising safety: your safety…..

….A close relative is a trained aircraft engineer at a London airport and I can assure you that they are often short staffed and under great pressure. There isn’t a single person who has never made a mistake , the way to be certain when it is so important is to have enough staff to check. Our standards are better than many countries but as ever employers want to cut corners……

[cityprofessional]

Who was the selfish, ignorant, life-threatening twit who threw his suitcase down the slide? He should be banned from flying forever…

[SimonS1]

Doesn’t make great reading. Including as cityprofessional mentions a reference to some moron who tried to go down the slide with a bag in each hand.

I suppose with HBO fares and increasing numbers of expensive items of equipment like Macs and iPads carried on there will be more temptation to do that in the future.

[BigDog.]

Frankly I would be more concerned with the fact that a disabled aircraft (which was shedding chunks of metal, on fire, plus a ruptured fuel line) was routed over London to Heathrow rather than the nearer and imo safer route to Stansted or Luton.

[WillieWelsh]

I too would be very interested to know why the aircraft returned from flying over Brentwood to LHR. It could have turned over relatively unpopulated areas and approached Stansted or even one of the RAF bases in East Anglia without endangering the lives of people on the ground – those in the air were already in significant danger.

Then as a relatively minor adjunct the chaos this caused for thousands at LHR that day would have been avoided.

The pilot is to be commended for his flying skill but not his error of judgement in flying over London. The cabin crew who failed to inform him of the fuel situation should be dismissed and BA need to examine the rostering of their engineers before something worse happens as a result of fatigue, stress and overwork. Perhaps their hours should be regulated alongside those of flight crew to stop the poor employment practices clearly happening at BA. If they cannot do it themselves then regulation is required.

[ImissConcorde]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3486820/Easyjet-flight-delayed-spanner-wing-Passenger-spots-tool-wedged-flaps-aircraft-taxies-off.html

[FDOS_UK]

Poor show by the engineer, but well done the passenger.

When I flew light aircraft, a guy I knew (not very well) was killed when a spanner left in the fuselage became trapped in the control runs and affected the elevator travel.

Checking for tools after servicing is very important.

[Author]

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