Murray Goldberg

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?

nk15

Does anyone know what is the registration number of the infested aircraft?

aircrashsurvivor

Made the headlines on CBC in Canada this morning
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/b...lane-1.4363560

beowulf99

I'm scheduled to be on this route, and likely this actual aircraft, a week from now. I've seen a friend of mine go through a bedbug infestation, costing him around $20k and months of unbelievable stress. Would you travel on this flight given today's story?

I'll be contacting BA but I'm expecting a form letter in reply.

Globaliser

Welcome to FT, beowulf99!How do you know it's likely to be the same aircraft, so far ahead of the flight? Do you have inside information about it?

beowulf99

BA services YVR with a very small number of their oldest 747s. Unless they've pulled this plane out of service, the chances of getting on the same aircraft are high. I think that's a reasonable thing to worry about until they give me some concrete information.

Globaliser

There are 18 aircraft in the configuration that operates to YVR. I don't know if you count that as "a very small number of aircraft".

At any rate, since the route returned to 747s on 1 October 2017, there have been 19 rotations. These have been operated by 9 of those 18 aircraft.

One has operated 5 flights, but is not the incident aircraft.

The others have operated 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 and 1 flight each.

The 20th rotation has just departed LHR for YVR. This is being operated by an aircraft that has not yet operated to YVR since the route went back to 747s.

So maybe we should now count that as 10 of those 18 aircraft having operated to YVR in the last three weeks.

T8191

However the aircraft age, rotations or indeed model is irrelevant where B-Bs are concerned. They will be brought on board by anyone, or their luggage, were the B-Bs have been able to hitch a ride. I doubt even an Executive Jet is immune from the threat ... one just has to have been where B-Bs are present [which is everywhere] and 'BINGO'

nk15

The IVT coded 744 was the aircraft previously involved in th JNB routes infestation like a year ago. Does anyone know the code for this aircraft?

EllisBell

My young daughter was bitten several times on our recent overnight CW flight from SEA to LHR. She landed with large red inflamed areas spreading from new bites. Her brother was also bitten several times on the back of his legs.

We've been staying in the UK since we landed and have experienced no further bites. I'm guessing that, because our bags were in the cargo hold, the cold temperature and absence of humans meant that no bedbugs were there to hitch a ride.

PJSMITH0

Is it possible that the bed bugs were picked up from chairs in the airport and brought on board by the passengers. I don’t see how any airline can avoid this happening unless they sheep dip the passengers on the air bridge. ��

scillyisles

Ah I see your angle - it is all the airport's fault - in these cases presumably YVR or SEA. The lengths to which some posters go to absolve BA of any responsibility is staggering.

For the record, bed bugs tend to be fairly immobile i.e they are unlikely to travel on you or your clothes, come out mostly during the dark to feed and like to inhabit soft furnishings with a plentiful food supply which remains stationary/undisturbed for long periods.

HIDDY

Considering the bed bugs have to get on the aircraft in the first place I thought it was a reasonable question.

beowulf99

Thanks for the information! That's more aircraft than I was under the impression flew this route. I still wouldn't be thrilled to be on the same plane but at least the chances are lower than I'd thought. Agreed with everyone else that they can come from anywhere, but once they're on an aircraft I wonder how easy they are to dislodge with so many nooks and crannies for them to thrive.

Oh well, just another thing to add to the list of modern air travel hazards! Lineups, tiny seats, surcharges, overbooking, bed bugs...

Prospero

This seems one of many possible causes. These critters move about clutched to their victim's clothing, shoes, and luggage undetected so it is possible they hitch a lift from a hotel room to airport lounge, then onward to the aircraft. You can imagine how easy it would be for them to transfer onto an aircraft - the unsuspecting passenger picks their backpack from an infected seat, boards plane, then rests their backpack on their seat before lifting it into the overhead bin. <<shudder>>

I did read about sniffer dogs trained to detect bed bugs that can sweep through a Boeing 747 and locate bugs with pin point accuracy in just a few minutes