Just to dispel a couple of myths about these little f..rench beige parasites..

Firstly, not everyone reacts to bedbug bites in the way portrayed in these stories. A very large amount of people actually don't react at all. I'm one of them. I had them in my London flat a few years back and had absolutely no idea until I started to notice the specks on my bed sheets were reappearing every time I changed them, and were in fact blood. I then noticed they'd occupied my computer table, that was my first actual sighting, although I still had to confirm my suspicion via Google.

Unfortunately of course by this point they had performed enough unauthorised transfusions on me to build a healthy empire, complete with class levels and a solid industry/employment scheme.

The upheaval they create and the psychological effect they can have on some people when they infest a home shouldn't be taken lightly. If you think you've been somewhere they have, check yourself before you wreck yourself and your living space! Then contact the pros. You won't get rid of them yourself.

Secondly, in an attempt to keep this on topic..

Bedbugs don't care about cleanliness. They want your blood. Without it, their existence isn't sustainable. The often-aired assumption that only scruffy folks end up with them is a lie. They are, however, attracted to the 'human smell' as it's obviously how they scout out their din-dins. With that in mind, keeping your house clean will keep that down but if a few hitchhikers arrive on your suitcase after a trip abroad, they wont all up sticks when they realise yours is nice and clean. They want you.

Bearing all of the above in mind.. Premium aircraft cabins are like bedbug nirvana and I'd imagine this is as much a nightmare for airlines as it is hotels.

I'm not defending BA for their cleaning practices here, but really it's a separate issue. They're fairly powerless in terms of prevention. If bedbugs end up in Club World, a turnaround clean will obviously never be enough. By the time the problem is spotted it's likely they'll have multiplied. Taking it out of service and the relevant steps being taken is the only way to sort it out. But for how long?