oldandslow

Post deleted

dgwright99

Really odd that they were "propping up" the corpse; surely in F you'd lay it down with the seat in bed position ?

At the very least, why not UG a CW or WT+ passenger, and put the corpse in the CW/WT+ seat ?

In fact, why not put the corpse in a crew bunk, and let the displaced crewmember use the F seat ?

Seems to me that the first line of failure here is the crew; it's good that they wanted to respect the corpse, but quite clearly they didn't need to be so contemptuous of the F pax to do that.

But BAs response after the fact is even worse. I bet that they would not have responded that way on a US flight where they'd be risking a lawsuit. Or at least if they had, the passenger would have had a decent chance of redress through the courts.

dhuey

I'm wondering why they didn't use a lav. for the body. Yes, that means longer lines outside of the other lavs., but I think that's a price worth paying.

restlessinRNO

My thoughts exactly. BTW This topic is also being discussed on the BA forum:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=672526

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

I do not think the BA fleet ( or many others) have a space to put dead bodies)

IIRC, only the Singapore Airlines A340-500 ( ultra long haul) have space for them.

As for diversion, one of the flights ( December 2006?) the flight was LHR-BOS so at the time of death the aircraft is probably well over the ocean ( not too many good diversion points)

Regards

TBS

mattm199

Interesting that SIA have a "corpse locker" for the A340
http://www.aviation-health.org/news/...23&topicid=333
I thought they had one in their 747s as well? BA might have to make space for one too!

GeneralAviation

I'm honestly surprised at some of the reactions posted here.[/QUOTE]



Would your opinion be different if it was revealed this woman died
of a highly contagious disease of some sort? I rather doubt the
cause of death was determined before the body was placed next
to a First Class passenger.

I realize First Class isn't quite what it used to be, but for the price
of a $6,000 ticket, I wouldn't expect the airline to deposit a dead
body next to me, and then give me a pile of their crappy attitude
to boot.

sqwert

Was BA's FA correct in their response to the passenger who exhibited concern ? NO. Was the "offended FC Pax" reasonable in his reaction ? NO

I realize that the entire concept of this board is for "us snobs" to share stories and talk about our status, but lets get real. Someone is dead, and some people are grieving. If it was your Mum you'd want the best treatment - and the finest show of respect for the dead.

Choke it back, get over it. You are alive, they are DEAD.

Somehow I see a Jerry Springer Show guest slot for the offended PAX, and a lawsuit demanding compensation for injuries. Has anyone considered the suffering of the family, the flight crew (who I have to assume toiled to help them) or the PAX who sat next to her as she died ?

Bah Humbug ! I hereby recind my membership in the snob-club if these are the depths that we have sunk to !

I spent too many years working with the elderly to allow the sight of a deceased person cause me any level of trauma. If it were my Mum, I would be MORE offended by a closet.

My condolences to all involved, and I hope we can try to put ourselves in the places of others before future judgement.

Jim

smp9778

Are you joking? It sees to me that BA should have at least refunded his ticket as a gesture. To say "get over it" and refuse even an apology... what a joke.

Also seems to me that the dead body could have been put in a closet or a lavatory for the duration of the flight. Or a F/A jump seat.

smp9778

Sorry, but as others point out, what if the deceased died of a contagious disease? Are the F/A now serving as coroners?

Put the dead body in a lavatory, lock the door, and everybody can get over it. I mean if those lavatories are good enough for the living passengers, then they are certainly good enough for the dead!

BA has no sense of customer service. Never has, never will.

If I was seated next to a dead body (cause of death unknown), I'd be suing the airline for possibly endangering my life once I got off the flight.

sqwert

Sorry, but common sense requires me to suggest: if the PAX died due to a contagious disease, EVERYONE has already been exposed in the plane. If you are concerned that it is blood or fluid borne contagion, then don't touch !

Again, think about YOUR family. How would you react if it was YOUR family ?

Jim

p.s. I am FULLY open to a conversation about assigning a section of the hold or other area for storage of deceased PAX - but lacking that, is a Loo good enough for your Mum ?

smp9778

If she was dead, I'd understand putting her in a lavatory. I do think that it is a public health issue and the decomposing dead body needs to be kept as far away as possible from other passengers. The health of the living passengers needs to be put ahead of sentimentalism. Or, if sentimentalism is so important, then let BA land the plane and deal with it that way. But you shouldn't expect other passengers to endanger themselves because of your feelings about a relative.

Even beyond the thought of using a lavatory, there were other options. A F/A jumpseat (as there are typically far more F/A jumpseats than used on a flight) by the most isolated door (probably in very front or very rear of the plane) and a strategically-placed curtain would have been a better choice. Or even lying in the aisle near the cockpit with a beverage cart blocking it off (in the same way that F/A block off the cockpit when door is open in U.S.)

birdstrike

My family has an odd sense of humor. I don't think any one of use would mind our dead bodies being placed in a lav for the duration of the flight.

cj001f

They are dead. I'd prefer them in a loo, or other private area, then in public where the corpse could be poked prodded or otherwise molested.

to BA

Doppy

For the "compensation is required" crowd, how much compensation would you want if they landed just to offload this body, delaying the flight several hours? You'd complain about that, too, wouldn't you?

As for the other options suggested here, I'm not sure how viable they are. Putting the body in a position that would block an emergency exit sounds like a bad idea, unless BA wants more dead passengers on its hands. The lavatory may be questionable as well, since the body probably wouldn't be strapped in.

In any event, I'm not sure that BA owes compensation because other people have a mental hang-up here. Next BA is going to have to compensate people who are afraid of flying for the emotional distress. And that's on top of the "passengers bill of rights" people who are already demanding that it be law that passengers get a windfall from airlines if the weather is bad.