A dad has vowed never to fly with British Airways again after claiming he was left without a headrest on a seven-hour on his birthday ‘trip of a lifetime’ – with a one-inch bolt sticking out. Jonathan Yates had been jetting off from Heathrow Airport in London to Toronto, Canada, with his partner Sandra Craven, 51, for his surprise 50th birthday trip on February 12.
But after boarding the flight, the dad-of-one found his ‘pre-booked’ economy seat was without a headrest, leaving a one-inch steel bolt sticking out of the upholstery. Shocked by his discovery, Jonathan said he alerted an air steward onboard about his faulty seat, but claims he was told there was nowhere else to sit on the aircraft as it was full.
The HGV driver says he was then given the option to either get off the plane or use a ‘first class’ cushion to cover the bolt for the duration of the journey. As the pair had spent £2,500 on their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ holiday, they decided to remain on the flight, which left Jonathan using a ‘thin’ pillow as a makeshift headrest for seven hours.
The 50-year-old claims the exposed bolt was a ‘major safety concern’ and forced him to sit sideways for the whole flight. He believes if there had been turbulence or a bumpy landing, he could have cut his head on the bolt.
British Airways said they had re-contacted the couple to further apologise for the incident. Jonathan, from Marsden in West Yorkshire, said: “As soon as I got to our seats I noticed the headrest.
“We had pre-booked the seats so we could sit next to each other, which cost £26 each. I reached out to the head steward on board and told him there was no headrest on my seat and just a one-inch bolt sticking out.
“He came and had a look and he was flabbergasted as well at it. He went away and came back, but said he couldn’t move us anywhere because the plane was full.
“He brought me a first class pillow and said there were two options. I could either use the pillow for the flight or I would have to get off the plane. It was a bigger pillow than the ones in economy, but it was still very thin.
“The whole flight was very uncomfortable, as if I leant back I could still feel the bolt in my head as the pillow was that thin. I had to sit for the whole flight at a bit of an angle and I couldn’t sleep the whole flight.
“If there had been a bit of turbulence or a bumpy landing I could have bumped my head on the bolt. There was no risk assessment done at all. Someone said we should have flagged it to the captain, but we didn’t realise this at the time and weren’t told this until we landed back at Heathrow a week later.
“It was a major safety issue. If I had hit my head on the bolt in the seat it would have cut my head. No one should have ever been made to sit in that seat.”
Sandra, Jonathan’s partner of 30 years, had booked the week-long trip to Canada and New York to celebrate his 50th birthday. Alongside the headrest incident, the factory worker claims she was left with only a bread roll to eat for the whole journey as British Airways was unable to provide her with her ‘pre-booked’ vegan in-flight meal.
Sandra said: “It was a once-in-a-lifetime holiday and a surprise for my partner Jonathan and we were really looking forward to it. We were annoyed at the steward’s attitude [to the headrest] as he said our only option was to get off the plane. I sort of wish we had now.
“On the flight out as well, I had also pre-ordered a vegan meal and when they came round with the trolley they had no vegan options left. The flight attendant finally found me a vegetarian meal, but it was no good as it had a cheesecake and butter and I’m a vegan so I was left with a bread roll to eat for the whole seven hours. The whole [BA] experience has now left me nervous about flying again [in general].”
Making matters even worse, the dad claims his screen broke on his return flight so he had to spend three-and-a-half hours without anything to watch. Since returning from their seven-day holiday, the couple have emailed British Airways to complain about their experience and have since been awarded a £50 voucher to use against their next holiday. Despite this, the pair feel this is not enough compensation and have vowed to never fly with the airline again.
Jonathan said: “This was the first time we have flown with BA and we would not fly with them again. We wanted the price of the cost back from Heathrow to Toronto as it was a major health and safety concern.”
After being contacted by journalists, British Airways contacted the family to increase their offer of vouchers for another flight – however Sandra remains annoyed as she doesn’t wish to fly with them again. A British Airways spokesperson said: “We are sorry for our customers’ experience and have been in touch with them to apologise and resolve the matter.”
