British Airlines passenger on dream trip to NYC forced to sit through 7-hour flight with a metal bolt in place of a headrest
He wanted to bolt from this flight.
A British Airlines passenger says he was forced to sit sideways on a seven-hour transatlantic flight — to avoid a one-inch bolt sticking out in place of a headrest.
British flyer Jonathan Yates shared photos of the bolt and surrounding metal attachment where he expected to be able to rest his head, telling Kennedy News he was only given a “thin” pillow to cover it.
His longtime partner, Sandra Craven, 51, spent more than $3,000 on flights for the “once in a lifetime” trip from their UK home to Canada and then the Big Apple as a surprise for Yates’ 50th birthday.
They immediately contacted a steward to report the missing headrest, asking to change seats, Yates told the UK news agency.
“He came and had a look and he was flabbergasted as well at it,” Yates said.
“He went away and came back but said he couldn’t move us anywhere because the plane was full.”
The steward then gave two options — get off the plane or use a pillow from first class to cover the bolt.
Yates decided to tough it out, getting a “very thin” pillow to protect his head — and then sitting sideways throughout the seven-hour flight to avoid resting on the bolt.
“The whole flight was very uncomfortable as if I leaned back I could still feel the bolt in my head as the pillow was that thin,” he recounted.
“I had to sit for the whole flight at a bit of an angle and I couldn’t sleep the whole flight.
“No one should have ever been made to sit in that seat.”
The now 50-year-old said the exposed bolt was a “major safety concern,” because turbulence or a bumpy landing could have pushed him back on the exposed bolt.
“There was no risk assessment done at all,” he told Kennedy News.
Making matters worse for the couple, Craven said she was only provided with a single roll of bread during the seven-hour voyage because the plane did not have any vegan options available.
Then on their way back to the UK, Yates said his in-flight entertainment screen broke, and he was left with nothing to watch for three and a half hours, Kennedy News reports.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime holiday,” Craven said, noting that she and her partner “were really looking forward to it.”
But now, she said, “the whole experience has… left me nervous about flying again.”
The couple said they emailed British Airways to complain about their experience when they arrived back in the UK, and have since been awarded a $63 voucher to use on their next trip.
British Airways later upped the amount of the voucher after being contacted by reporters.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the airline said it is “sorry for our customers’ experience and have been in touch with them to apologize and resolve the matter.”
