[edelf]

Hi,

I recently flew with British Airways from Sydney to London (via Singapore) and I was sitting on a broken seat. My seat was broke at the hinges and I was forced with sit at an angle for the duration of the whole flight. I reported the issue to cabin crew who sent their supervisor down to me. I asked the Supervisor during the flight if there was another seat that I could be moved to. She replied "I am sorry the flight is fully booked...unless you would like me to go up and ask the pilot to turn around and go back just for you?" I was shocked and appalled at the response from this lady. I was not making a fuss and just wanted to be moved as I literally had to sit for over 23 hours at an angle. I could not sleep or sit up straight for the whole flight. I have sent an email of complaint to British Airways and they just responded with a general forward apology email with an offer of a £50 evoucher.

I paid over $2,000 for this flight and was sold a seat that was clearly not fit for use and should never have been sold in the first place. It is a clear breach of health and safety, let alone the factors of what I had to endure and my back pain for the duration of my "holiday."

Can anybody advise me who is the appropriate person/ authority to take this complaint to??

[jimworcs]

That is a shocking response and absolutely not what you should expect from the supervisor on a flight. Did you take a photo of the seat by any chance?

If you have complained and received an inadequate response, you can escalate your complaint to the CAA. This is from their website.

Escalating your complaint

If you have complained to an airline or airport in writing and you're not satisfied with the outcome, contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

If you write to the CAA, make sure you include copies of all correspondence you have exchanged with the airline or airport.

Send your complaint to:
Passenger complaints
Civil Aviation Authority
CAA House
45-59 Kingsway
London
WC2B 6TE
Phone - 020 7453 6888

One thing I should advise. Be prepared to be specific about what you think is a reasonable remedy. I understand the CAA will ask you what you expect. If you received a return flight for example, and the impact was to make one of the flights uncomfortable, it is unlikely you will be able to demand a refund of the whole ticket or a free ticket. You should be clear with both the airline and the CAA what you think is a reasonable remedy.

You can also file a claim in small claims court. It is easy and cheap to do this, and it can be done entirely online at the link below. However, BA will certainly claim that you received the service you paid for, so you will have to establish that it fell below the standards a reasonable person could expect.

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

It would infuriate me if a FA was as flippant as she was with you...but that may not rise to the level required in court.