Man flies first class seated near corpse

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Man flies first class seated near corpse
Woman upgraded after dying in economy during flight from Delhi to London

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17683917/?GT1=9145

Updated: 12:52 a.m. MT March 19, 2007

LONDON - A passenger in first class woke up to a shock when he found himself sitting near a corpse on a British Airways flight, British newspapers reported on Monday.

Paul Trinder, 54, said cabin crew moved the body of the elderly woman from the economy section where she had died after take-off, the Mirror and Sun tabloids said.

"The corpse was strapped into the seat but because of turbulence it kept slipping down on to the floor," Trinder, a businessman, was quoted as saying. "It was horrific. The body had to be wedged in place with lots of pillows."

The woman's daughter was also upgraded and spent the rest of the nine-hour flight from Delhi to London grieving next to her dead mother, the Sun reported.

The Guardian newspaper said the incident happened last week.

British Airways has apologized for any distress suffered, according to the reports. The Mirror quoted BA as saying: "We apologize, but our crew were working in difficult circumstances and chose the option they thought would cause least disruption."

While I agree that the airline had limited options, it seems pretty tacky that they put the corpse where other passanger could see it. Couldn't they have put it behind the passangers already seated in first class so that they wouldn't have to look at it?

I like corpses.

They were probably panicking - people aren't supposed to die on their planes. And that man was freaking out a little too much, I think. After all, it's not like she was murdered or gruesomly decomposed.
As for putting it behind them...it's possible that there weren't two open seats next to each other in any other space. (The daughter wanted to stay with her mother, so there would need to be two.) The economy section would have been fuller, so as far as grossing less people out, first class would be the place to put her.

I was just thinking that they could have asked the person (or people) in first class to move around to accomodate the situation. From what I could tell, the guy that got all freaked out was the only person in first class. I've been the only person in first class before when I paid at the gate for an upgrade, so it wouldn't surprise me if the cabin was mostly empty.

True. I wonder how far along the flight was, however. The article only says that she died after takeoff, which leaves a pretty long time span. If people were all ready comfortably seated, they may not have wanted to move them around, especially if they're trying to carry a dead body. *shrug* They probably just weren't thinking straight. I'm guessing that's a rare situation.

I'm guessing the same thing. Of course, I would have either spoken up or just moved myself if I were so uncomfortable about it. I've asked to move to exit seats in the past due to the extra leg room. Those you do have to ask about, though, since there are laws about who can sit there. In other instances I have just moved if I was uncomfortable. THIS has never come up, though.

What if he had to get up to go the bathroom? He'd have to scooch past her dead body.

I'm not afraid to visit cemeteries, but like the guy in the story, I would really freak out if I found a dead person next in the seat next to me. The body should have been put in a discrete area in the back of a plane somewhere, not right in the seat among the living. The airline did not handle this situation correctly. Not only did it make some passengers uncomfortable, I think it was also disrespectful to the dead person.

I think this is a damned if you do/damned if you don't situation. If they had put the body into some cargo area, it would have been disrespectful to the family members flying with her. My initial thought was to land the plane and get the body off, but all that would do is cause an unnecessary delay and possibly strand the family members - it's not like they could have brought her back to life.

I don't know how they handled this first class passenger who was obviously upset. I think that they should have offered to re-seat him. We know of two empty seats in coach (the one where this dead lady sat, and her daughter's). They also could have seated the body in a place where the least number of people would see her.

Maybe, maybe not. I reread the article and it doesn't say that they were seated next to each other. They were "near" each other. It's quite possible that "near" consitutes in the same section for this man.

That reminds me of what happened on a flight I was taking to Hawaii. There was a woman being dragged away from the last flight. She was either unconscious or dead. Never knew which it was. Freaky.

Well, having been a nurse's aide and cleaned up bodies for the undertaker to come, I do know that she must not have smelled very good. Anyway, what I heard on NPR about it said the guy wasn't so put out until the crew told him to "Get over it" and then he blew a piston.

Merle

_________________________________________
When I feel blue, I start breathing again. . .

The crew could have given him the jump seat in the cock pit if it was so easy to get over

I can't blame him for THAT. First class isn't exactly cheap. If I were in the position of the flight attendant, I would have probably asked what suggestions he has on the matter. That generally shuts people up.

that is absolutely disgusting; can you imagine waking up next to the corpse of some old lady? That is frickin nasty!

Reminds me of this story called A Rose for Emily. Necrophilia is sick....sick, sick, sick.