someone thrown off a flight at London

[obnoxious]

someone thrown off a flight at London > is it legal Re the DDA

Lifesaver in British Airways bill row is kicked off flight - Manchester Evening News (http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1291509_lifesaver_in_british_airways_bill_row_is_kicked_off_ flight)

[Anansis]

is it legal Re the DDA


Yes it is. A person only qualifies as disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) if they have a "physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term effect on their ability to carry out day to day activities." The PAX in question here does not meet this definition.

It is an unfortunate situation, but an understandable one. It appears from the article that the cabin crew only became aware of his situation when he boarded the plane. They would then have had to make a quick decision shortly before departure based on the limited information available to them. The middle of the Atlantic is a long way away from medical assistance.

Still, you get the feeling that it could have been handled much better from a PR perspective. BA reservations were aware of his situation and this information really should have been passed on to the crew on the flight.

[Avman]

A spokeswoman for British Airways said: “We apologise to Mr Kerrison for the embarrassment of being off-loaded from the plane and there will be no extra costs to him for rearranging the flight.”

Another great PR coup (not) by British Airways. A 50% refund of his fare and a free upgrade to Business Class is what he deserves. What a shambles this airline has become.

[radeng]

Would he have been eligible to have demanded a full refund of fare and taxes, and then flown with someone else?

[flyblue]

We had a similar case a couple of years ago, when there was a doubt about a passenger being fit enough to fly such a long flight. We called the airport Doctor that quickly gave us an answer. If the article says the truth, I think they should at least have tried that option.

[wiggy]

Maybe the BA crew did indeed contact their medical experts (via satphone) prior to taking the decision to offload - that's certainly the company SOP.

Maybe they said "offload, get further advice, try again tomorrow if all OK".

[Capot]

We apologise to Mr Kerrison for the embarrassment of being off-loaded from the plane and there will be no extra costs to him for rearranging the flight.”About as mean an apology as it is possible to make without denying that they were totally wrong to have done what they did.

So we all make mistakes; but the terrifying thing is that presumably whoever decided to respond to the initial error like this does not even realise what's wrong with the response.

A free seat usually has a marginal cost of almost nothing, but is worth a great deal to a customer whom you have upset badly I learned that lesson in BA, but it seems that things have changed.

[Vitesse]

If the linked story is accurate, it appears as though no-one at BA wanted would take the responsibility of saying "yes" because it is so much easier to say no.

As the incident passed up the chain, the chances diminished with the increased seniority.

This cannot be an unusual situation. Does anyone else have any experience?

[Rusland 17]

If the linked story is accurate...But isn't that exactly the point? We have no way of knowing whether this one-sided story, in a tabloid newspaper, is accurate. And, as on many internet forums, too many people are all too ready to condemn based upon the flimsiest of evidence.

[dollydaydream]

IF accurate then as all have said the situation was indeed handled very badly. However, if the passenger had purchased one or two bottles of water from an airside shop and asked for more once airborne the situation would not have existed.........just a thought along the lines of people taking some responsibility for themselves:ok:

[wiggy]

This cannot be an unusual situation. Does anyone else have any experience?

No it's not unusual. I was once called to the door during boarding because a passenger apparently had a medical problem that meant he needed a more roomy seat than the one he has been allocated :hmm:. Needless to say no one in the crew had been prenotified of this. We "rang" our medical folks who advised us that the passenger should not travel until checked out. The passenger then argued that he would be OK to travel because our first aid trained cabin crew would be able to help out should he deteriorate in flight and that we could always divert if he got really ill! this was prior to a >10 hour flight over some pretty remote areas, with over 300 hundred other folk on board - needless to say he didn't travel.

Back to the newspaper story: If this gentleman's arrangements really had been "cleared" by BA reservations and recognised medical authorities and this information was not passed on to the operating crew then BA deserve some stick. However if the first the crew knew was him saying he'd need extra water throughout the flight because he a "medical problem" then yes, I can understand him being offloaded.

if the passenger had purchased one or two bottles of water from an airside shop and asked for more once airborne the situation would not have existed.........just a thought along the lines of people taking some responsibility for themselves

dolly, :ok:

[Shack37]

IF accurate then as all have said the situation was indeed handled very badly. However, if the passenger had purchased one or two bottles of water from an airside shop and asked for more once airborne the situation would not have existed.........just a thought along the lines of people taking some responsibility for themselves


The first sentence of this post shows comprehension and compassion. However, perhaps the passenger did not have time to make a purchase airside before embarking. He took the precaution of carrying a letter from the hospital thereby IMO demonstrating a reasonable degree of responsibility. His only crime was to ask that a supply of water be available during the flight and explain the reason for this (hence the doctor's letter).

Back to the newspaper story: If this gentleman's arrangements really had been "cleared" by BA reservations and recognised medical authorities and this information was not passed on to the operating crew then BA deserve some stick. However if the first the crew knew was him saying he'd need extra water throughout the flight because he a "medical problem" then yes, I can understand him being offloaded.


This passenger did not have a "medical problem" he simply needed to avoid dehydration, something to be recommended for anyone undertaking a long haul flight.

Common sense...............not so common

[wiggy]

Round and round the hamster wheel goes ....

This passenger did not have a "medical problem" he simply needed to avoid dehydration, something to be recommended for anyone undertaking a long haul flight.


Exactly......if he did not have a "problem" why make an issue of the supply of water to the cabin crew?

[Havana]

If a passenger said that to me, I to would be concerned, there is only a limited amount of water onboard. If this passenger requires a large share of the supply then others will suffer. How much does he require? What happens if we run out of bottled water? If as the pax suggests it was vital I would not have taken the chance unless extra supplies were loaded, similar to pax requiring extra oxygen

If I tell the caterers we need a "constant supply" they will ask how long is your hose!

I agree with dolly DD if the said pax required loads of water they should have come prepared. IF BA res knew in advance then it is their fault. maybe the pax could have confirmed at check-in if it was a life and death matter

H

[dollydaydream]

Put into perspective, this man has effectively had a blood sample taken, probably preceeded by injections to stimulate production of stem cells. These CAN have short lived adverse reactions such as nausea, headaches and pins and needles. Clearly the gentleman suffered no lasting side effects as one of the best hospitals in Europe was willing to give him a letter, I am assuming at his request, stating his fitness to fly, something perhaps he thought he would need. The amout of fluid he would need to consume would be probably no more than cabin crew ought to be drinking on a long haul flight to prevent dehydration. Therefore, making time to buy a litre bottle from Boots/ WH Smiths etc before boarding would have done the job for quite a proportion of the flight. Water would have been served with his meal, there would have been at least one drinks service and I'm sure a polite request for a glass/small bottle of water in between would have been happily granted.
Seems the whole incident has been badly reported by the MEN, jumping on the BA bashing bandwagon, claiming 'rights' to the story because the man used to live 'up north'. I am sure with hindsight he realises that quick trip to the shop would have saved an awful lot of bother:)

[Vitesse]

Thanks for the earlier replies to my query.

I'm wondering about the story. As written, this chap sounds very reasonable and makes BA look silly. Perhaps the story does not entirely match what actually happened.

Cheers!

[Shack37]

If a passenger said that to me, I to would be concerned, there is only a limited amount of water onboard. If this passenger requires a large share of the supply then others will suffer. How much does he require? What happens if we run out of bottled water? If as the pax suggests it was vital I would not have taken the chance unless extra supplies were loaded, similar to pax requiring extra oxygen

How much water can a human being drink on a nine hour flight? At a guess I'd say five litres and that's pushing it. Is the amount of water carried aboard so limited that this could result in a shortage?