Colleagues of a prime QC who was instructed his youngsters's nanny could not be a part of his household in a enterprise class flight as a result of the flight was oversold have warned BA they've 'picked a battle with the incorrect passenger'.
Charles Banner, QC, 41, his accomplice and their two youngsters aged one and 4 had been escorted from a BA flight in Heathrow by police following a row over their nanny's seat.
The household discovered themselves grounded after boarding BA flight 2578 from Heathrow Airport to Turin final Thursday for a week-long snowboarding vacation.
Issues grew to become heated after Mr Banner was knowledgeable that the youngsters's nanny had solely been allotted a seat in financial system when he arrived on the boarding gate.
Mr Banner paid for enterprise class tickets, however his nanny had been downgraded as a result of BA oversold the flight.
A number of authorized colleagues counseled Mr Banner's stance, claiming BA have 'picked on the incorrect passenger'.
When he requested cabin crew if she might be a part of them in enterprise class, as a result of he and the youngsters's mom wished to work in the course of the two-hour flight, Mr Banner claims BA aircraft employees had been 'impolite' with one commenting: 'You want.'
The talk raged because the aircraft began shifting from the stand, prompting the pilot to show it round and demand that he would solely fly till Mr Banner and his household had been eliminated. The flight was delayed by 90 minutes.
Mr Banner, 41 instructed MailOnline: 'If BA had instructed me that the nanny couldn't sit with us in enterprise then we might not have travelled and will have gotten a later flight. However they solely instructed us that once we obtained to the boarding gate.
'I behaved completely however I used to be difficult the cabin crew as a result of it was the suitable factor to do. The pettiness and vindictiveness of the employees precipitated this. I used to be being very well mannered about the entire thing.'
He added: 'It was a really upsetting occasion for the entire household and the way in which we had been handled was appalling and in distinction to over 15 years of nice experiences on BA flights as an everyday buyer.'
Mr Banner claimed that despite the fact that there was a spare seat near him in enterprise class, cabin crew employees insisted that nanny might nonetheless not sit in it and assist take care of his youngsters, prompting him to tell them that he had made an official grievance about their conduct whereas nonetheless on the aircraft.
He revealed: 'This was unsurprisingly very upsetting and irritating for us all, as it might have been for any household on this place.
'We stored asking for a proof and the cabin crew stored telling us repeatedly in response that we might be compensated, repeatedly gaslighting us by ignoring our request for a proof as to why the spare seat couldn't be used.'
He added: 'I indicated to the cabin crew that I had made a grievance about their behaviour to BA. Quite than apologise, the cabin crew then requested the pilot to not fly both the 2 youngsters aged 4 and one, their mom, the nanny or myself, which was a gross over-reaction to our comprehensible upset at how we had been handled - almost definitely to supply the cabin crew with cowl in opposition to the grievance that I indicated I had made about their behaviour.'
After leaving the aircraft, Mr Banner says that he was compelled to guide right into a lodge near Heathrow due to his younger youngsters, because it was getting late. The household then took a taxi to Gatwick Airport the next day and booked new flights to Turin with Simple Jet.
He estimates that complete incident has value him virtually £4,000 and is demanding monetary compensation from BA in addition to a full apology.
He has vowed to by no means fly with the airline once more however admitted that he has already acquired two verbal apologies.
The preliminary value of the BA enterprise class flights to Turin was £1,250.
Mr Banner added: 'BA have given me vouchers as compensation, however I do not need these, I desire a money refund. There have been numerous knock-on prices for me because of this incident.'
Mr Banner specialises in planning, industrial and public procurement and is taken into account one of many most interesting authorized brains in these areas.
He was appointed a QC in 2019 on the age of 38, the youngest from that yr's batch and is rated as considered one of Britain's prime 4 planning QCs.
He insisted that the presence of police as he left the aircraft was merely customary protocol and didn't point out that he had dedicated any crime.
Mr Banner stated: 'In accordance with customary protocol in a state of affairs the place passengers depart a aircraft and return landside, the police escorted our household again by immigration. They made clear that this was simply customary protocol and that no offence had been alleged or dedicated.'
A spokesman for BA stated: 'We don't tolerate disruptive behaviour and the protection of our clients and crew is our prime precedence.'