A “filthy” first-class seat on British Airways is making big news after a journalist flying with the airline took a closer look at his accommodations aboard the plane. The video can be viewed below, which was filmed by British TV presenter, Owen Thomas. He was taking a dream vacation to St. Lucia when this was being recorded.
Owens dubs it a “filth class” seat in the video. He couldn’t believe what he saw, so he shot a video and tweeted it for all to see. Viewers can clearly see dust, dirt, and grime that appears to have been collected over time. Within two days the video has received almost 200,000 views on YouTube.
“It is absolutely filthy. You see the stains down here. It’s when you open your seat, the real horror begins.
“This is first class. This is British Airways first class. It’s disgusting.”
AOL News Travel reports that Owens is a former BBC anchorman on Newsbeat . The video was recorded January 17 when he and his partner, Kai, took a trip to St. Lucia. He tells Mail Online more about his experience.
“My partner, Kai, and I took this trip after a stressful couple of years where we’ve both been working in different countries. We’re not part of the jet-set. We saved for this once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m really appalled that BA could treat us, or anybody else, with such contempt.
“This is nothing short of corporate greed. They took our money – lots of it – and clearly can’t give a damn about their customers, whether they’re in first or economy.”
Some commenting on different sites about Owen’s filthy first-class seat think he should have taken his issue up with British Airways first and not make this a public embarrassment for the airline. However, many more think if you’re paying for a $14,000 first-class seat, you deserve to have service that justifies spending that much on a plane ticket.
A British Airways spokesman spoke with Metro about Thomas’ experience aboard the airliner.
“We have contacted our customer to apologize. We are very sorry that on this occasion we have fallen short of our usual high standards.
“We pride ourselves on delivering a relaxing and pleasant experience in First, and are taking immediate action to address this issue.”
Owen Thomas accuses British Airways of “corporate greed” and not caring at all about their customers. This could draw attention to first-class accommodations on other big airlines. Those paying a lot for tickets wouldn’t enjoy sitting in a “filthy” first-class seat or an economy-class seat!
[Photo Credit: YouTube Screenshot via Metro ]
