Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<For $10k couldn't you charter a flight?>> Not for a flight of that duration. <<Frequently Asked Questions Q: HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO CHARTER A PRIVATE JET? IS IT COMPARABLE TO FLYING FIRST CLASS ON COMMERCIAL AIRLINES? A: The cost of chartering a private jet is determined by usage and itinerary. Executive jets in the light jet category average roughly $3,000 per flight hour including add-ons and surcharges. Mid-size and heavy executive jets have a higher hourly cost and have longer range and more cabin space. Turbo-prop aircraft are less expensive and more cost-effective for shorter trips.>> Source: <a href="http://www.skylinejets.com/faq/" target="_blank">http://www.skylinejets.com/faq /</a>
Originally Posted By Liberty Belle I completely understand people saying they'd be upset about finding a body near them - I'd be upset about it too! I guess what I don't like about this story becoming so public is the fact that the family, whilst grieving over the loss of a loved one, has to deal with her death being plastered all over papers and the internet, and not in the context of "isn't this a tragedy?" but in the context of "well, this really ruined someone else's day". I don't mean to sound like a cow to the man involved, because I can see how it would have been unpleasant. But I guess I keep imagining myself in the shoes of the daughter rather than the fellow passengers, and if it was my mother and I heard all of this stuff in the news, I'd think "get over it. I'd much rather be in your position than mine". >>And as for the "get over it" part, I've read other articles where that didn't seem to be the case (they were apologetic, but it was unavoidable).<< Most of the other articles I've read have been similar - more sympathetic than the one linked here. I guess whichever one you read first kind of alters your opinion a bit.
Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<Had BA treated this man better I'm sure we would not have known this incident occured.>> I'm not so convinced. I think maybe this guy saw an opportunity for gain/publicity/power trip and went for it. I'd love to think that all British people are more pragmatic, compassionate, and understanding -- and less "Maury-like" -- than we Americans are, but I'm sure that's not universally true. While I haven't been able to get a clear picture of what actually happened on the flight, we do know that: A) The rows in BA's First Class are very short. B) At least one family member was moved up to First Class with the corpse. Ergo: C) The guy did not have to sit directly NEXT TO the corpse. Therefore: D) Other BA First Class passengers were subjected to largely the same experience The Man In The News had. (This would be especially true if, in fact, many wailing relatives accompanied the corpse to First Class.) However... E) Hinder is the only person we've heard complain about how completely horrible the experience was. Perhaps British Airways could have handled the situation more sensitively. I find it equally likely that this man is an opportunist.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy Inspector, call me a Pollyanna or you a skeptic, but I do think if they had done something to try and compensate him this wouldn't be as big a news story, if one at all. For the sake of argument, if I had gotten a large chunk of money back or a free ticket or something, it would have been simply a unique tale to tell to those I knew instead of going to the press about it. Then again, this man was detained on the airplane and interviewed on it by police. How do we know someone in the press didn't get wind of it already and start a story? How do we know one of those wonderful coach passengers didn't leak this out to someone? Or a flight attendant or pilot? For all we know the man could have gotten off the plane with newspaper or TV reporters foaming at the mouth for his center ring experience.
Originally Posted By gadzuux How do we know that this guy didn't have a hissy fit during the flight, which caused the airline to call the police on him - due to his actions and statements. Airlines are getting really fussy about "air-rage". The slightest thing will result in being detained and possibly arrested at the end of the flight.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy From a reporter I heard today, it sounded like the loved ones' wailing and screaming was the noise, and he was trying to block everything out with his earphones. I guess only the folks there really know, and even with that though, we know details can get altered.
Originally Posted By DlandJB <<For $10k couldn't you charter a flight?>> Not for a flight of that duration.>> Even when they might throw in a dead body for free? I don't mean to make light of the situation. The flight crew was really without many options. Perhaps with this incident behind them the airlines will design a plan to deal with this kind of thing. Mercifully it doesn't happen all that often, does it?
Originally Posted By Mr X JB, as I said before, the number one cause of deaths in aviation is natural causes. I does happen, more often than you might think. Seriously, just think about it logically. Lots of old people fly, there's nowhere to take them if they die on a long flight... That's also why cruise ships have morgues. If they were to stop and "offload" everytime some oldie didn't wake up the next morning, they'd never meet their itineraries.
Originally Posted By SuperDry But a cruise ship is a very different kind of vessel than an airliner. Space is at a premium on an airliner. Take the statistics that British Airways gave: an in-flight death happens about 10 times a year. Any space dedicated for this purpose is dedicated for every flight the aircraft takes. In my opinion, it just doesn't make sense to remove seats to put in a morgue area. It's already hard enough to make money in the airline business.
Originally Posted By Mr X I agree, SD. I was just pointing out that death by natural causes happen in many places you wouldn't ordinarily think of. Just a sad fact of life. I can safely say that, if I were in that position (of being in first class when it happened)...I'd have moved back to coach. Nothing about the seat comfort or breakfast the next morning or whatever would make staying up in first class worth it to me.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I didn't read the entire thread. Has anyone suggested the plane should have headed for the nearest airport and landed once the woman died?
Originally Posted By gadzuux The feeling was that the airline would not consider this an "emergency" and therefore wouldn't want the enormous additional expense and to hamstring many of the passengers trying to make connecting flights. Makes sense to me.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "The feeling was that the airline would not consider this an "emergency" and therefore wouldn't want the enormous additional expense and to hamstring many of the passengers trying to make connecting flights. Makes sense to me." Someone dying isn't an emergency?
Originally Posted By Mr X Not dying. Dead. Big difference. Planes do divert all the time for medical emergencies. And, aside from the cost and inconvenience, I would think that an emergency diversion to jettison a dead person would actually BE dangerous, as it could detract from any possible REAL emergency that might be occuring at the same time. How many airlines are there? If BA is any indication, then hundreds of people die in flight every year. Is it a good idea to have planes do emergency landings every time that happens (like, once a day or so?)?
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "How many airlines are there? If BA is any indication, then hundreds of people die in flight every year. Is it a good idea to have planes do emergency landings every time that happens (like, once a day or so?)?" I believe it is.
Originally Posted By DlandJB I does happen, more often than you might think. Seriously, just think about it logically. Lots of old people fly, there's nowhere to take them if they die on a long flight...>> Yeah, that does make sense. So there must be a standard protocol. I'm in the minority that would not be freaked out if someone died on a flight I was on if they were not known to me. The way First Class is configured as was described before, it seems that there would be a way to be as private about it as possible. What would be unsettling would be a passle of keening relatives that disrupted the flight. I would think that FDA regulations could kick in and insist that everyone return to their seats. That $10k seat really doesn't cost the airline $10k, so they certainly can reimburse the guy at least with a flight voucher. Does anyone know what the outcome has been?
Originally Posted By Ursula <Russ, I'm glad you were joking. I thought someone suggested that as a serious option though (if not, my bad).> I was the one who suggested it. For privacy reasons, of course. I wouldn't want my deceased loved one being looked at after he/she died. And I did say that they could have covered the loo with blankets as well as the corpse, so make it more like a holding bin and less than a "hey, let's throw granny in the toilet." I also read that there is a crew area of some type (with a door) on this particular type of plane. I don't know if that part was true or not (I don't know from planes and hey, I read it on the internets!), but if so, clearly that would be the best place.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka I find it odd that they didn't give the guy a voucher. As JB points out, a $10,000 ticket doesn't cost the airline $10,000, however, I doubt this guy will be willing to give them $10,000 more of his money. It's just strange that they said "get over it" instead of trying to do something to make the guy happier. They have to know that many people would be stressed out with a dead body next to them during a flight. Telling a customer to "get over it" is their policy? Also, (I think someone asked this already) if the dead person's family member was able to come up and sit in First Class...why couldn't they sit next to the body instead of a stranger?
Originally Posted By jonvn "Jon, from your description I take it it's been a while since you've flown on a 747 lol." Actually, yes, that is true. Long time.
