A London man has called out British Airways for forcing him to sit in a urine-soaked seat for the duration of an 11.5-hour flight from London to Cape Town, South Africa earlier this month.
According to The Sun, 39-year-old Andrew Wilkinson paid $1,600 to fly economy class from Heathrow Airport on August 4. However, when he alerted a flight attendant to his damp seat he was only provided wet wipes and a blanket.
"I got to my seat and saw that there was a wet patch. It was about the size of two decks of cards laid side by side. At first, I thought it was water but the smell was so distinct it could only have been urine," Wilkinson told The Sun. "I told the stewardess and she smelt it and agreed it was wee. She said 'sorry about that.' Then she went to the toilet and brought me seat wipes and told me to clean it up myself."
Wilkinson said he asked to be moved from economy to business class to avoid the wet seat with little luck.
[CALLOUT]
"So I was left to sit in a urine-soaked seat for over 11 hours when I paid £1,242 ($1,600) for a return flight with British Airways," he told The Sun. "It was awful. By the end of the flight, I could feel it seeping into my jeans."
Wilkinson said the airline offered him a few thousand points as compensation, which he doesn't believe was fair enough.
"I was given 5,000 Avios points and I just do not think that is a good enough compensation for sitting in someone else's wee for over 11 hours," he said.
The airline said it has apologized to Wilkinson for the disturbing situation.
"We were very concerned to hear about this and have been in touch with our customer to apologize and make amends," a British Airways spokesperson said in a statement. "The cleanliness of our aircraft is of the utmost importance to us and our planes are cleaned thoroughly after every flight. We also perform frequent spot checks to make sure our cleaners are maintaining our high standards."
According to News.com.au, British Airways has also offered Wilkinson the choice between a voucher worth £435 ($560) or a free upgrade on his next flight to Cape Town.
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Oliver Richardson of the Unite union representing British Airways flight crews blamed the incident on the airline's lack of investment.
"The Cape Town route is staffed by cabin crew who earn a pittance and have been taking industrial action," Richardson said via News.com.au. "This passenger's experience suggests the service is being hit."
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