British Airways cabin crew have been accused of serving a passenger on a packed flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, 10 miniature bottles of Bacardi in quick succession, causing the passenger to become so drunk that they vomited all over themselves, the carpet, and their seatmate.
That seatmate was Bruce McKenzie, who has just shared the response he got back from British Airways after he complained about the incident, in which the embattled airline offered a measly £50 in compensation.
“On a recent 11-hour flight from JHB to LHR, the BA flight staff served the passenger next to me 10 Bicardi mini bottles in the first few hours of the flight,” McKenzie wrote in a post shared on the British Airways Complaints Advice Facebook group.
“He became so intoxicated that he vomited on himself, the seats, the floor, myself and the passenger on the other side of him,” McKenzie continued.
“An attempt was made to clean up the mess , but the whole experience was terrible and unacceptable, as the staff giving him this volume of alcohol was complicit in the vomiting.”
British Airways responded to McKenzie, admitting that he had an “unacceptable experience,” although the airline was careful to pin the blame on the “intoxicated customer.”
“We fully understand how distressing and unpleasant it must have been for another customer to become unwell due to intoxication, resulting in vomit on your seat, clothing, and the cabin floor,” the response added.
“This is certainly not the standard of experience we want any of our customers to have, and I’m sincerely sorry for the impact this had on your journey.”
British Airways explained: “While our cabin crew follow strict procedures regarding alcohol service and disruptive behaviour, there are occasions where situations escalate despite their best efforts.”
As a gesture of goodwill, British Airways has offered McKenzie a £50 future travel voucher. McKenzie has slammed the offer, saying he is “openly disgusted by the response and the service.”
Matt’s take – Where fault lies dictates compensation
McKenzie’s issue with what happened and the amount of compensation that he has been offered by British Airways is all to do with who he thinks is most to blame for causing this undignified incident.
In his opinion, British Airways was ‘complicit’ in the drunk passenger projectile vomiting because its cabin crew served him so much alcohol in a short period of time.
But here’s the thing. BA’s response is clearly aimed at absolving the carrier of blame, stating that its cabin crew did their best but couldn’t prevent the passenger’s behavior from deteriorating to the point that it did.
As a result, BA is simply offering a voluntary ‘gesture of goodwill.’
What do you think? Should British Airways have offered a more generous compensation payout in this incident?
