BA 206 25 Jan 2010 Miami-Heathrow

can_u_help

Was anyone on the BA 206 flight which departed: 25.01.2010 Miami - arrived: 26.01.2010 London Heathrow?

Who can remember:

* A/C failed in rear section of plane (ca. +28° for about 9hrs)
* Passengers had to wait to disembark in London because the paramedics had to board the plane first to attend a passenger!
* Pilot apologised for the "hot" situation and assured the passengers at the rear of the plane that the defective A/C system would be fixed on our arrival in London

Have tried to stick to the bare facts here and have kept this very short. I know this is a long shot as this happened a long time ago - but perhaps someone/anyone out there can help me!

Thanks for your help!

stoneman

What do you want help for?

richardw

How many ba miles have they offered you?

moneywasternomore!

This was over 18 months ago. Have you written to the airline? Did you make a complaint on arrival at LHR, and have it logged?

Perhaps more importantly: if it was you, or one of your family, in need of attention by the paramedics, would you still be so irked at having the rest of the passengers wait? Or would you have preferred them to step over you on their way out? I assume that, whilst you were waiying for the paramedic on arrival at LHR, the aircraft cooled down pretty quickly (not too many 28C days in London in January). Was +28C an actual value, or your guess (did you ask?).

Did you expect the piolt to fix the a/c in flight, or do you accept that it was reasonable to have it done on return to main base?

To repeat previous posts: what exactly are you seeking to achieve?

can_u_help

Thanks for all your comments.
As I said in the thread I wanted to keep it short, perhaps it was too short, sorry!
I was the passenger who needed assistance from the paramedics on this flight!

What I'm looking for is someone who can confirm my claims (A/C not working in rear of plane, pilot's announcement etc.) - verify my story!!

Before we took off, and during the whole flight, the temperature in the rear section was around 28°!!! The heat was just unbearable. Children were crying, so many people were coughing and complaining, incl. the crew members, of the heat, but the crew said they couldn't do anything about it until we arrived in London. We were told that the plane was full so there were no seats available anywhere else.

As a result of the sweltering heat for so long, I collapsed and needed O2 for the remainder of the journey and had to have the paramedics attend to me upon landing. Wheelchair assistance awaited me in LHR. In a situation like this you just don't think of asking for a copy of a report that the flight attendant had filled out or names of people etc.
I overheard a crew member saying that other passenger were also ill!
I suffered from tonsilits, bronchitis etc. and was out of work for a 1 month as a result!

I've been in contact with BA since last year. BA have offered nothing because they are saying that no report (sick passenger) was filed!!! and there was no problem with the A/C etc. etc. - so my illness must have come from somewhere/something else.
At this stage I AM more than IRKED and really don't know who or how to contact anyone who was on that flight. Perhaps someone out there might be able to advise me how or who to contact or what to do or know someone who was on this HORROR flight!!
Thanks again for your patience and time.

isplumm

Hi,

Look at www.holidaytruths.com - they have a travel lawyer on there would might be able to help. Complaints forum is where the details are held.

Mark

Alikay

Long haul economy travel can be unpleasant: I've been on a very uncomfortable flight myself too. It seems like the crew did all that they were able to in the circumstances - giving you oxygen, arranging wheelchair assistance and paramedics on landing. What else did you want BA to do? Tonsilitis and bronchitis are generally viral illnesses and can occur fairly spontaneously: There's nothing to suggest your illnesses arose from the flight (unlike food-poisoning, for example which could be traced to the food they'd served).

Since you haven't got any documentation from the journey detailing any issues, I think you should move on. If you make too much fuss about how the in-flight conditions affected your health (you were more badly affected than other passengers, I believe) you may need to consider declaring it for future travel insurance. Airlines can and will claim against passengers' insurance if they have to make emergency diversions to offload a sick passenger, and not mentioning it could work against you if you are ill whilst flying again.

Sorry, don't mean to be harsh, but it's hard to work out what you want BA to do. Airlines do not tend to pay compensation for customer discomfort, unfortunately.

malkie76

I suffered from tonsilits, bronchitis etc. and was out of work for a 1 month as a result!

Both are viral infections in >90% of cases, which would not have been affected by cabin temperature - if anything it may actually have reduced your susceptibility as increased temperature and humidity reduce viral transmission.

However, it's far more likely you contracted the virus prior to boarding this short flight as your symptoms presented themselves while on board.

It's a coincidence you were on a flight at the time with limited air conditioning, so essentially the airline aren't to blame. I get increasingly depressed at the constant blame-and-claim culture.

can_u_help

malkie76 wrote: »

Both are viral infections in >90% of cases, which would not have been affected by cabin temperature - if anything it may actually have reduced your susceptibility as increased temperature and humidity reduce viral transmission.

However, it's far more likely you contracted the virus prior to boarding this short flight as your symptoms presented themselves while on board.

It's a coincidence you were on a flight at the time with limited air conditioning, so essentially the airline aren't to blame. I get increasingly depressed at the constant blame-and-claim culture.

Thanks for your comments.
QUOTE: I get increasingly depressed at the constant blame-and-claim culture
Ans: Well, I have to agree with you here, because so do I!! I'm not in the habit of doing this that's why I've decided to write here as I don't really know what else to do!


And just to set matters right:

1) I didn't contract the virus prior to boarding!
2) I was not the only person who suffered an illness on this flight!
3) There wasn't limited A/C - the A/C in the rear of the plane was defect!!
4) I never said that the symtoms presented themselves WHILE on board
I stated that I was ill for 1 month afterwards and mentioned them as some of the symtoms!
I travel quite a lot and have never experienced anything like this before.
If, for example, other passengers are ill while on board such a flight i.e. flu etc. then this is the ultimate breeding ground for such bacteria, hence it's likely that other passengers will be affected and be ill afterwards.
I was very weak when disembarking and my body "crashed" as my doctor put it under these conditions.

malkie76

I do sympathise - I have been stuck on an aircraft with broken air conditioning, and it was rather unpleasant.

1) I didn't contract the virus prior to boarding!

You don't know that, and cannot prove at which point you contracted any virus. It would be extremely difficult to prove you contracted on the aircraft, and even less so that it was somehow the airlines fault.

If do you catch a virus on a plane it most likely came from another passenger, not the plane itself. Only way to avoid this is never to fly anywhere.

2) I was not the only person who suffered an illness on this flight!

Coincidence. With ~250 other passengers chances are several might be unwell at some point during the flight.

3) There wasn't limited A/C - the A/C in the rear of the plane was defect!!

Unpleasant, but not the cause of your illness.

I stated that I was ill for 1 month afterwards and mentioned them as some of the symtoms!

Sorry to hear that, but you are failing to link the flight with your month of illness. How can you be sure you did not contract a virus with a latency period prior to boarding?

If, for example, other passengers are ill while on board such a flight i.e. flu etc. then this is the ultimate breeding ground for such bacteria, hence it's likely that other passengers will be affected and be ill afterwards.

Flu is a virus, not a bacteria. Do you have any evidence of bacterial infection ? Viruses really don't survive outside of the human body particularly well, and as mentioned above the hot, humid temperatures would actually reduce the chance of transmission (apparently according to scientists in the field).

So, you got ill, and it was a co-incidence that you were on a plane with broken air conditioning. Is that about it?

exel1966

You've have no positive way of knowing that the virus wasn't picked up prior to flight, you're simply putting 2+2 together and coming up with 5 ! You could have easily picked up the virus in the days prior to flying or on your return. Symptons of this nature do not immediately appear on contact with the virus, they will take a few days to breed and encroach the body.

Bacteria are prominent in all A/C systems, especially within aircraft systems as 'dirty' air is often recirculated to cut running costs. The fact that the A/C wasn't working would mean you would have less chance of coming into contact with that bacteria. The onboard conditions may have exacerbated your feeling of the symptons at a later date, but again that's just guesswork.

If an ambulance attended the aircraft upon arrival preferential in-flight/ground handling would have taken place which cannot be covered up or forgotten about. It will be recorded in numerous places, with HAL, BAA, NATS, BAW, Border Agency and the London Ambulance Service to name a few !