This is what I will post to BA (maybe after a bit of editing tomorrow). I will send it to Willie Walsh, Simon Talling-Smith, the Civil Aviation Authority, EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) and IATA. I considered sending my friend in the Daily Express (shock horror) but decided against it. The letter is unintentionally long, although i don't think there's anything in there that doesn't need to be there. I will also send my flight details with this.

Dear Mr. Walsh,

I am writing this letter because I am seriously concerned about the levels of safety, security and service on British Airways flight 576 on Friday 31st August. On boarding the aircraft, the purser did not greet passengers, preferring instead to continue her conversation with another cabin crew member. She also failed to check any boarding pass stubs, or to offer any assistance to passengers embarking at Heathrow.

After departure, which, incidentally was delayed by 90 minutes, the Club Europe cabin service consisted of one crew member allocated to all 6 rows of Club, despite there being six crew members on board. This crew member proceeded to serve the food extremely quickly, followed by a drinks service, no tea or coffee was offered, due to ‘technical problems’. No passenger in club was offered a re-fill of a drink, and the crew member allocated to the club cabin sat next to the purser in the forward galley, gossiping over ‘Hello’ magazine.

There was a party of school-children on board the aircraft, travelling in Euro Traveller, between rows 7-11. My wife was seated in the rear of the Club Europe cabin in row 6; despite having pre-allocated our seats three months prior to our trip, on check in, we had been moved and could not be accommodated together. As my wife was in the row immediately in-front of this party, she can testify that the behaviour of the pupils and staff was absolutely impeccable. As a frequent traveller, I have travelled on flights with a multitude of groups, and therefore can empathise with crew who may feel slightly nervous of a school-party on board a fully-loaded, delayed aircraft. However, the contempt with which this party was treated by the cabin service team was shocking. Not only did the crew literally scowl at the party throughout the flight, but also, I, seated in row 2, could overhear the purser and other crew-members talking about this group in extremely insulting terms. Indeed, the crewmember allocated to club referred to the party as “bloody spoilt brats”. The purser referred to a fellow passenger as being ‘difficult’ (for paying with a £50 note and requesting a vegetarian meal).

Other service shortcomings on board the aircraft include a crew-member shouting at the a member of the school-party for using a camera on a mobile telephone to take a photograph of a friend, despite the phone being in ‘flight mode’, and therefore not transmitting or receiving data, and not searching for a network. Clearly, this hostile attitude by the cabin crew upset many passengers on board the flight.

On landing in Milan, there was a firm brake application, this appeared to cause the bar trolley, which I can only assume was not secured correctly, or there was a fault with the securing system, to literally shoot the entire length of the cabin, only stopped by the club Europe configured seats, causing the drawers to fall completely off the trolley and shed its contents across the entire club cabin, and the trolley to tip, resting on the sides of seats. The purser, instead of immediately attempting to secure the trolley, made a PA announcement advising passengers who were standing up to look at the incident to sit down, but also to advise us that the contents of the bar were known, and that the school of the children would be invoiced for any shortages. Frankly, this was unacceptable, as not only was she accusing the children of stealing, but also she was assuming that they would steal and that no other passenger would do so. Surely the first priority here would be to secure the trolley, as if the aircraft had stopped suddenly whilst taxiing, I fear injuries would have resulted.

I requested a comments form from the purser, who, as if in a final act of aggression, walked, in my plain view, to her station, stared blankly at the main door for 5 seconds, and returned to tell me that there were no comments cards. Fortunately, she had requested the captain to talk to the school-party following arrival, so I contacted the captain as he walked down the aisle towards the school party and, very briefly outlined the events. He was sincerely apologetic, and when told about the drinks trolley, sounded concerned. The purser rudely interrupted me in mid flow, and denied that any drinks had left their drawer, to which I retrieved a can of tonic that had been missed and was lying under row 1 seat C. The captain immediately retrieved a comment form, which I duly completed and handed over to British Airways ground representatives in Milan.

Firstly, I would stress that the service issues pale into insignificance when one thinks of the safety implications of an incorrectly secured cabin for landing. I would ask you to please investigate this issue, as a matter of urgency. I have forwarded a copy of this letter to the Civil Aviation Authority, as I am so concerned about the implications; a member of crew failing to discharge their safety and security duties correctly.

Whilst it is insignificant when contrasted with the experiences I have already mentioned, my suitcase failed to arrive in Milan Malpensa; this is the fifteenth mis-handled bag of mine in 2007, and I am growing increasingly alarmed at the lack of urgency to resolve this issue. Please do not tell me that T5 will resolve this issue, because in the meantime, millions of your customers will find that their travel plans are disrupted.

I fear that my main point, that of the trolley hurtling down the aisle, and the lack of any check of passengers on boarding the aircraft at its remote stand, is not diluted by the raft of other material within this unintentionally lengthy letter; I do however, feel it appropriate that the full facts are communicated. This is a first for me; whilst British Airways occasionally has lapses in service, I have never in my four years of being a BA Gold Executive Club member felt unsafe onboard a British Airways aircraft, and have never experienced such contempt not only for passengers, but also for standard operating procedures. I thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and once again would urge you to take the issues I have highlighted within this letter seriously.

Yours Sincerely,


Ian Morgan