Originally Posted by
ATC Watcher
Luc Lion :
Absolutely.
We all have suspicions as to what this flight really was and who directed who, , but as said before a few times already , the actual facts are showing it was a private flight ( i.e. Flight plan , no contract, no money involved, passenger confirming by SMS it was for free, etc..)
and unfortunately as it is for some people , unless something new comes up , when judging this case in court it will be the rules of private flights that will apply and not those of a commercial flight.
Sorry but disagree, and also believe Luc Lion may have some vested interest by his constant denial. The passenger believed this was a commercial charter just for him- when did he ever think otherwise?! He also assumed it would cost him money and offered to pay, but McKay junior told him he'd look after payment if Sala repaid him by helping him score goals. McKay senior has since stated it was a commercial operation and he was paying for it all, just as he's paid for previous flights. McKay also said something along the lines of "can't pay all that money for a player and put him in a Ryanair flight"- what he was insinuating was that this was some kind of luxurious and more expensive means of travel.
So, I have no idea how you can paint this picture that all those involved thought it was a private flight? You really think Sala got on that plane after being bought for £15m believing that the pilot was an amateur who was unqualified to make the flight in those conditions, was flying him out of the goodness of his heart and that the pilot was paying??! "It's great to have such good mates Mr Pilot, I dont know how I'd ever have got to Cardiff without you, barely enough money for a bite to eat". 🧐
Note, they didn't even know eachother prior to this charter arrangement.
Take a step back and look at the situation, there is no way that the passenger believed this was anything other than a chartered flight booked exclusively for him. He chose what time to leave etc. Flight plan was made to suit Sala's arrangements, hence that's why the original morning flight didn't leave, because Sala wanted to go at night!