BA serves drunk pax until comatose, refuses to remove him from emergency exit
 

Just come off a 5-hour MF flight from a European destination. Passenger in the middle of the emergency exit in front of me had clearly had a few before boarding. I am very far from prude about alcohol consumption in the air. What else is there to do? I had two drinks in the lounge myself, and another two during the flight. But the elderly gentleman in front of me was something else. He and his son (?) kept ordering more drinks regularly. Halfway through the flight, the old boy staggered to the toilet, and fell over in the aisle, causing a bleed. He was helped back to his seat, and given some hot towels from CE. Soon after, the were asking for more. The FA told them she was terribly sorry, but they'd drunk all their Jack Daniels. What a clever way of cutting him off, I thought. But oh no, she brought them something else. And I think one more round, although I'm not sure.

As we approached LHR, the old boy was comatose. He kept on leaning against the shoulder of the stranger on his other side, who told him off quite sharply. 10 minutes to landing, the FAs had to raise his seat table for him, and I then had to get up so they could clear up the mess he'd left behind his seat (also emergency exit) — various inflight magazines, sick bags, and blood stained towels. At this point I asked them if they were really going to let him stay in that seat for landing. They went up front to ask for advice, and returned to wake him, which took a few attempts. They asked him a few times if he was fit to sit in an emergency seat. He did not answer, but his companion answered in the affirmative on his behalf. That was their cue to dash to their seats for landing. He remained unconscious throughout landing, and had to be woken up so the passenger in the window seat could exit. Disembarking, I asked the CSM for a word, recounting what had occurred and pointed to the old boy as he staggered off, and told her I was very concerned that they'd landed with him in the emergency seat. She was completely dismissive, and said it didn't matter as he was not seated by the window.

I would have moved on if this if she's taken it to heart, but clearly she didn't care one bit, so I really think I ought to take this further. BAA or CAA?

I'd raise it with BA in the first instance.

The only thing I would have done (and hindsight is a wonderful thing) is question the crew earlier about the passengers fitness for being in that seat for landing. It seems to me that the crew took the easy option so they could be back in their seats for landing.

I know in 99.99999999% of times everything is fine, but what if it there was that slight chance that something did go wrong and he was hindering the escape route?

Have you got any contact details of anyone else on the flight to confirm your version of events? That might be the trigger for BA to do something.

I'd say BA but maybe make clear that you expect this to be fully investigated and dealt with and that if you don't feel it has then you reserve the right to bring the matter to the higher powers attention

Thought you were being a bit harsh but then realized you weren't talking about a taser after all :)

I don't see the big deal. The fella had a few drinks and fell asleep. No shouting, no abuse, no disruptive behaviour.

In any other seat, I would agree (preferably a window so they don't block anybody's way). In an emergency exit row, there is a problem, for reasons that are explained to you at each safety briefing.

My advice would be to write to BA (specifically, to Safety Department). Ask the communication to be passed onto Safety Department if you file a customer relations report online.

I'd recommend being as objective and calm as possible, expressing it as safety concerns rather than complaints. However, I think you also need to cover the point that a drunk guy shouldn't have been drunk on an aeroplane in the first place, as well as not being allowed to be in the exit row.

In doing so, I recommend avoiding making too many assumptions - the drinks given in place of Jack Daniels that they had 'run out' may well have been non-alcoholic. Not making too many assumptions but addressing the various possibilities unless you were certain might give your story more credibility.

For instance, I have got very close to falling over in the cabin and I probably looked very drunk, but I wasn't. It's simply that one of my legs would give way if I sat incorrectly, and when I got up, it completely gave way, so I nearly fell over, except that I quickly grabbed something but I still couldn't walk. It would have been a bit silly if someone fully assumed that I was drunk as I hadn't had anything alcoholic for days...

I think it's a very bad idea to get drunk, or allow someone to get drunk, to the extent of going into stupor (or violence etc - essentially drunkenness) - whether on aeroplanes or on the ground, and certainly dislike them to be in the exit row and I find them very inappropriate to be allowed to remain in the exit row for take-off or landing and crew members should not have allowed him to remain there, but I think I should give BA a chance to deal with this issue first.

I have seen various safety-related issues which I addressed with various airlines, and most cases, certainly the one with BA, has been addressed properly and appropriately at the time I contacted the airline, even if wasn't dealt with appropriately in-flight (which then triggered me to write). I did not need to refer the matter to the regulators.

I'd be far more concerned with people going for their bags or personal belongings as many did on EK521.

I thought crew were not allowed to serve alcohol to some one who was drunk?