A top British barrister was kicked off a British Airways flight last week after a row about his family’s nanny not being allowed to sit in business class.
Charles Banner, QC, and family were removed from flight BA2578 before it took off for Turin from Heathrow on Thursday, after discussions with cabin crew became heated, reports the Daily Mail.
Mr Banner was travelling with his wife, his children - aged one and four - and the family nanny, with all five booked into business class, but they were informed at the gate that the nanny had been downgraded to economy due to overbooking.
When he saw a spare seat in business class, the barrister asked if the children’s nanny could be moved there so that she could keep an eye on the children while he and his wife worked on the flight.
He says that BA staff responded rudely, saying, “You wish.”
Mr Banner quickly informed cabin crew that he had made a formal complaint about them to the airline.
“If BA had told me that the nanny could not sit with us in business then we would not have travelled and could have got a later flight. But they only told us that when we got to the boarding gate,” he told the Mail.
“I behaved perfectly but I was challenging the cabin crew because it was the right thing to do. The pettiness and vindictiveness of the staff caused this. I was being very polite about the whole thing.”
Mr Banner says he pressed cabin crew for an explanation of why the spare seat could not be used, describing them as “repeatedly gaslighting us” by not answering his questions.
When he told crew that he had made a complaint about them, they reported matters to the pilot who refused to fly the family.
All five of the group were removed from the plane by armed officers, and later booked a hotel near Heathrow as it was getting late.
The QC says he was forced to pay for a hotel, a taxi to Gatwick Airport the following day and five new seats on an easyJet flight to Turin, all amounting to around £4,000 in total.
The initial cost of the business class tickets had been £1,250 (£250 per person).
Mr Banner says he has received two verbal apologies and vouchers from the airline, but vows never to fly BA again.
“It was a very upsetting event for all of the family and the way we were treated was appalling and in contrast to over 15 years of pleasant experiences on BA flights as a regular customer,” he told reporters.
“BA have given me vouchers as compensation, but I don’t want those, I want a cash refund. There were a lot of knock-on costs for me as a result of this incident.”
A BA spokesperson said: “We do not tolerate disruptive behaviour and the safety of our customers and crew is our top priority.”
