The plane should have turned back to Delhi. To fly with a decomposing body at room temperature is something that I would not be willing to put up with.

Disgusting behaviour, BA should be ashamed, but hey, they didn't lose any money that day through compensation claims for not arriving at the advertised destination,

Linda Hoey, Bournemouth, Dorset

Personally, I would feel very sorry for the distressed daughter and son-in-law rather than the inconvenience it caused me.
What would Mr Trinder feal if in was his mother? Would he be happy to put here in a corpse cubored!!

Gilbert, Cheltenham,

A query..............

There are not ROWS in first class so is this story true?

Alison Walker, Ash, Surrey

Maybe the story is not a myth all way down, but the truth's that all customers, especially in UK, ale very spoiled by assorted laws, i.e. shopping or services so they could make complaints everywhere it is virtually possible, about anything. My friend used to work in a doughnut shop. One of the customers cameback to her to say there was not enough jam in his doughnut!!! Or not enough powder on it!! I feel sorry for that kind of people.

So when mentioned passenger sniffed an occasion to mourn and complaint and, as a business person- make money out of it, even out of someone's death - he went for it.
Simple. But how sad is it, Mr Trinder?

Tom, London,

I feel sorry for the man on the plane, but also for the cabin crew. If I were put in the similar situation to that I would not know what to with the corpse. Maybe all airlines should invest in some form of place to put the bodies, no matter how low the chance of passing away on the airplane is. To see a dead body propped up with the family grieving closeby is a terrible thing to witness, and BA should've at least given the poor man a refund. That is an event he will never forget, and also one he would've found rather strange and disturbing.

Beckie Jones, Cheltenham,

I would recommend each reader reviews Trinder's response in this comments section (approx half way down) in order that they can reach their own conclusion as to this person's general professionalism.
I would strongly recommend that this 'high flying' businessman invests in a spell checker.
For the avoidance of any doubt, here is a section:
"Deceased memeber being carried unceremoniously some 50 rows. and b) the potential health hazard to other passengers.
This flight had originated in India where contagious disease is comon, "

GJ, Runcorn, UK

i don't belive this is ture. because why would any airline place a dead body in any section of thier aircraft let alone first class. If this MYTH is ture the aircraft would of have to landed im sure. becuse it would disturbed many people. what they would of probely done would of place it in the crew rest area out of the passingers site. This story is made up the men wanted to sell his MYTH to the papers so he could refund his trip on first class. In real life i hope this man can lern that people do die and you shouldn't complain about it !!!!

Toby, Oxford , England

This passenger has described that the lady's body was 'at the end of the row' where he was seated. It was the only place available and no one should be made to sit next to a corpse in the economy section of the plane while there are spaces in the first or business class area. The more difficult aspect was the loud grief expressed by the lady's family. That certainly constitutes a disturbance. However, a passenger could get drunk in the same area and become loud and disturb other passengers, and no doubt less complaint would be hears. I'm glad that there are apparently new measures being put in place to be able to place corpse when it unfortuntately arises in a specific area, preferably cold.

Jane, Coulsdon, Greater London, United Kingdom

I can't believe Mr Trinder said quote 'I can't believe I paid £3000 for this' A body takes longer than 5 hours to decompose, so no worries there. Whilst I appreciate he is a 'high yield customer,' death is unaviodable, or should the 'low yield customers' been subjected to sitting next to the poor dead woman (Houston Oil comment above) for the sake of a few thousand pounds difference in air fare?. BA did not at the time have 'corpse cupboards' and as the flight was full, was it not better to move the coprse to a quieter area and not infront of 300 passengsers? Or would it have been better to place it in the food galleys? Pray and thank god it was not you or your family that had to endure the death and potentially have a loved one stuffed in a corpse cupboard...get over it Mr Trinder.

Kay, London, UK

I don't think the passenger was insensitive at all. He has said that grieving is a personal thing and I too would be concerned if I woke up next to a corpse that had been moved there because no other plans were in place. We are talking about BA here a major airline that should cater for this type of issue. There should be a dedicated cabin when this typ of incident does ocurr which should allow the family to grieve in private. As regards the staff they should be trained by BA to deal sensitively with a situation when this arrives as part of their in flight procedures. It is 2007 for goodness sake, mind you a dedicated room takes up passenger space or is this just me being cynical!

Darren, Pontefract,

If the airline has not provided appropriate accommodation for such unavoidable instances, they should at least not subject their highest yield customers to this unfortunate circumstance. Should no alternatives exist during the event, the carrier must ensure their loyal customers are treated in such a manner as to continue and earn their demonstrated repetitive and valued business.

HoustonOil, Houston, Texas

Like Singapore Airlines, British Airways should have a dedicated space for the dead. It's insensitive to both the family and other passengers for BA to be so ill prepared for such eventualities.

abz, london,

Doesn't anyone think the passenger himself was completely insensitive and that all human beings, not just flight staff, really ought to be trained or train themselves for the eventual end of all our lives -- which is death? Yes, it can happen anywhere, anytime. Does anyone care about the daughter left behind? Or the trauma to the flight staff who certainly isn't paid to carry a dead body around or explain it to anyone? Where is the humanity in your responses?

Ashira, Rockville,

I think that BA's insensitivety is shocking. The passengers should have been warned that this was happening and there should be a proivision such as being able to curtain a few seats off should this awful event happen, The distress for the daughter is just too awful but, as ths is a probability on longhaul flights in particular provision should be made for this eventuality and a more caring way of explaining the situation would make such a difference.. "et over it" does not lead to good customer relations.

Desiree Rail, London, England

What is it about U.K. airlines? Do they just continue the flight no matter what? Last year they continued on a trip off the west coast of the U.S. with an engine out! Now this?
Stay away from U.K. airlines.

Tom Jones, Los Angles, California

I travel in First/Business Class numerously throughout the year, thankfully never having an experience like that before. There were many things that could have been handled in a more appropriate manner aboard that BA flight. First, there didn’t seem to have any necessary procedures implemented for a situation like this, which I discovered has happened in the past. BA cabin staff “upgraded” a dead passenger into First Class, without even notifying the premium passengers of this discomfort brought upon them. I understand that this was an unavoidable situation but, seriously BA you promise your First customers effortless travel, they get standards below any economy/coach and no compensation was given. From a business point of view, what do you prefer losing a 200,000 + miles customer (Gold Member) or losing 3000 quid? Maybe BA First Class passengers should rethink traveling on BA, and chose Virgin’s Upper Class Suite getting First Class Service at Business Class prices.

From A Business Point of View, Toronto , Canada

Living things die, it's the way of nature. It's also a freshly dead body, it takes more than just a few hours' flight to actually begin decomposing and becoming a health hazard - anyone with even a little education should know that. Perhaps the crew should have stuffed her body into an overhead bin instead? Or maybe tossed it out of the plane midair? Or maybe make an "emergency stop" in the middle of nowhere and drop the body off as well as the daughter... then what? How would you feel if you had just lost your mother? It's amazing to me how insensitive and selfish the "civilized world" has become, making such a mountain out of a molehill, when there are women and children dealing with this and more horrifying situations on a daily basis, like in Darfur for example. BA was right, get over it.

Disgusted, Los Angeles, CA

No matter what, if you pay £3000 for a ticket you pay for extra services. To have a greving woman and a dead body next to you does NOT fall under extra services.

Yes it is a tragic that the women dies and that it happens on an airplane is not an easy situation. But nevertheless both the dead and the grieving women allready had a seat. So why move them?? And like so many others have allready said. Move some other passengers if there is a need to move people. Then the corpse and the grieving women had place and mister Trinder was still getting what he had payed to get.

And to all of you who think that he is a bad man who think more of the compensation and less the dead women. That is not the issue. The man have payed an extreme amount of money to get the service he expected. How many of you who talk low of him can say honestly. "Hey. I just paid £3000 to get to sit next to a corpse. It was the most exiting thing i have ever tried. And there is no way I will ever complain". NONE

Lars Pedersen, Holstebro, Denmark

In any job, it shows weakness to allow the distress caused by the situation of one passenger to show in your work, and to cause you to fail your duty to a passenger unrelated to the incident. Trinder was not, in fact, showing a lack of sympathy, he was in shock, and he was not being treated as he should have been, especially after paying the amount of money he did. An apology cannot fix something so disturbing, neither can money, but a refund would have been the appropriate way to handle it. Also, I'm quite certain there were others disturbed by it. The body and the family members should have been moved to the most secluded area possible, and those passengers in that area should have been moved as far away from the scene as possible. If that meant having to move a high-paying passenger to a lower class seat, so be it, and refund them for what they didn't receive. In my opinion, the only thing shown here from those employees on board is a lack of good training for chaos situations

Skye, Long Beach , Mississippi, United States

Though it is true that you shoud feel for the fam. and lady that passed away, how would you like to wake up next to a dead body? You may be ok with that, but some people are not. They should have kept the lady where she was and moved the other people in her row to first. Or put her in the last row near the rear exit.......Why would you upset the bread and butter of the company?

Justin, Seattle, Wa

As a physician having treated over 20 medical emergencies on board over the last 20 years and flying a lot more first and business class miles than Mr Trinder, I am puzzled by the fact that he cannot empathize at all with the death of the fellow passenger nor the grief of the relatives. As the CEO of a "Safety" manufacturer, he is well placed to know that all he sells is worthless when it comes to moving to the real side of eternity. I am amused by his arrogant reaction, not even having sympathy with the flight attendants who really did their best to behave according to very badly formulated SOPs, because airlines like to deny it could happen.
Mr Trinder may now please sell morgue fridges into every airplane so he can sleep in peace whilst fellow passengers die around him. When he keeps flying at 200.000 miles a year, he increases his bets to land into the one of the morgue fridges he sold to the airlines. Hopefully his relatives will not be around to reclaim the ticket price.

Dr Luc Opsomer, Frankfurt, Germany

He should have been transifered to Economy class and the case explained to him. Then the Air milage be refendered to his next travel

Olivia

Olivia, kampala, Uganda

Um...what were they supposed to do stick her in the fridge? Throw her out the door? Put her in the bathroom?

I believe they put her in first class because less people are there and it was closest to the cabin door so they could quickly get her off. I highly doubt they told him "get over it". Judging by this man's initial reaction he wasn't being all that sympathetic and he probably translated "there's nothing we can do" to mean "get over it".

KC, Yacama, Washington

I'd be really really pissed off. Having a dead body plopped next to him is disgusting.

He deserves compensation how could they dare say 'Get over it'

Taz, Mull,

Good thing this guy didn't come off selfish or anything. With a grieving family next to him, his priority should be to care about his first class ticket and his creature comforts. He's a real hero.

John, Akron, Ohio

I think the air line could have handled the situation better. they claimed not to have enough space in the rest of the plane, but the question is, didn't the woman have a seat she was sitted in before she passed away?
if the crews had "no choice", they could have explained the situation more politely to the passenger.
Paul Trinder paid for excellent services, so he had every right to complain if he gets something short of that.
the air line should be made to apologize to paul, they had no moral right to tell him to get over it.
if this is not well adressed it will happen time and time again.
BA shouldn't forget that safety and comfort are very important in the airline business.

Bunmi Thani, lagos, Nigeria

I think this guy should get a lawyer, and sue the airline. there is no reason he should have to put up with this. if the lady died back in coach, she needs to stay put. the man paid for a first class ride, which is supposed to be luxurious and relaxing. having a dead old nasty decaying body next you is the polar opposite of this. i hope this guy gets a big enough settlement so that he never has to work again, thus never having to fly again.

Dylan, newport beach,

loooooooooooooooool

Jasmine A, Geneva, Switzerland

I cannot believe the arroance of this man! He could at least understand that little could be done to move the poor old lady! And complaining about the grieving daughter? Surely he can allow her the right to grieve! The flight attendants were right to tell him to get over it! What were the supposed to do? Have some compassion you miserable uptight man!

Stefanie Stretton, Ipswich, UK

First Class is not what it used to be.

T, Austin, Texas, us

Sad to say, but flights from India are marked by very poorly trained flight attendants. They seem like they are fresh out of high school and only know how to dress and use makeup on themselves well.
Ironically many Indian flight attendants are extremely racist toward Indian passengers. I have personally observed South Asian flight attendants treat Caucasian passengers very differently than Indian ones.I have repeatedly witnessed their incompetence and inexperience when it comes to dealing with any out of the ordinary passenger situation. Be it a sick passenger, an upset child, you name it. Interestingly Indian flight attendants on flights originating from the West are much much more professional and considerate.

Ann Wilkes, NYC, USA

It was a flight to end all flights.
Full-service all the way.
The upgrade she'd but dreamed about
was offered her that day.

She took off in ECONOMY.
But, oh my gosh. Alas,
before she'd landed on the ground
her seat was in FIRST CLASS.

It seems she got quite cold back there.
The old girl couldn't breathe.
But she did not complain a bit
and neither did she grieve.

She left that to the baffled few
who looked at her and cried.
The news spread up and down through coach.
Miss 40-D had died.

The flight attendants rushed to help
and moved the lifeless lass.
They found a seat beside a man
asleep up in FIRST CLASS.

The moral of this true-life tale
may seem at first to be
"In time you'll get what you desire."
But more importantly.

"The trips you take may seem routine.
You board and then you fly.
But hey, you'd best be right with God.
In flight you just might die."

Greg Asimakoupoulos, Mercer Island, WA, USA

I am sorry, but I don't understand what the big deal is. Death is a fact and sometimes it happens on planes. Why was it necessary for Trinder to know what was going on considering that it didn't concern Trinder. Should flight attendants run through the aisle announcing that a passenger has died to create more problems or panic so that Trinder and others like Trinder have been satisfied with their supposed right to be involved? The answer is no.

DanielFTL, Pompano Beach, FL

you are right - it is an utter disgrace. the fact BA even let people on board who may have a predelection to die on board just makes commercial airlines even more repugnant than they already are.

Anne, London, GB

I recommend that everybody read the book "Air Babylon", and then just pray next time you get on a flight that most of what goes on doesn't happen to you........ Feel sorry for the guy on the plane, most unpleasant, but really it's just wrong time, wrong place.........

Tim, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Just what did the unfortunate lady die of? Exactly: none of the BA staff were qualified to perform a post mortem, so they had no idea what disease (if any) the corpse was carrying - which makes moving it around on a crowded aircraft an extremely stupid thing to do!

BA should consider themselves extremely lucky they aren't being sued for infecting other (living) passengers.

Mike Bibby, St Albans, England -not EU

was she charged for the upgrade?

paul, toronto,

While i think BA should have had some procedure in place i also strongly think this man needs to get over his GOLD CARD status and be a human being. I mean who here was really in bigger distress Mr GOLD Card or the poor lady who lost her mom.

Aviator, Houston, USA

I think Mr. Trinder was treated very badly.....Why couldn't the airline have moved some of the other passengers into first class and clear some area for the grieving family. It would have given the family more privacy. I think this could have been very traumatic for children if they had heard the commotion.....

Laura, N Augusta, SC

I wonder if the poor deceased lady still got her frequent flier miles?

Kim Righetti, Upland, Calif. USA

If it bothered him that much, Mr First Class traveller could have always requested a downgrade to tourist class. Evidently there were a couple of free seats down there.

Jonathan Lowenstein, Tel-Aviv, Israel

I had no idea that BA was so egalitarian. The nation's favourite airline treating its First Class customers with the same contempt it serves up to those in Economy. Amazing. Cattle Class we can rejoice. No longer need we feel inferior just because we're breathing putrid air, confined to a space 2ft x 3ft and forced to carry our most personal belongings in transparent plastic doggy bags.

Go for it BA!
ps: any chance of doing something about the food?

Thomas Martin, London,

It seems that some people want to keep their heads in the sand even at 30,000 feet - even if it costs them 3000 quid

I agree with BA. Fact is, people die. And it's an inconvenience. If the man wants complete separation with the rest of humanity, I suggest he charters his own flight next time. Then he can sit all alone in the plane with absolutely no risk of corpses.

Jack Lee, Austin, TX

Danila , an unsqueamish, grownup not in need of compensation would thoroughly enjoy first class. Specially now that BA First class is offering alternative viewing and new age sound attractions for 3000 pounds.

Kite flyer, Chexbres, Switzerland

I agree, why move her and if extra space was needed why not move another passenger to First Class to make room where she was sitting. Mr Trinder has been traeted very badly and I sincerely hope he can find a different airline that will treat him with the consideration that such a frquent flyer deserves. Nobody should be treated the way he has been, regardless of their class of travel.
I have been trying to convince BA that the bout of food poisoning my husband recently suffered, after a BA journey from Prague, was caused by egg sandwiches served on the plane, do we know what in fact did this lady died of??????????

Doreen, Crowthorne, UK

It seem alot of pple are been unfair 2 a passenger, just as death is a common thing , we all react differently.Allow him his right 2 react differently frm what u would do but i wonder how many pple here can stand confined with a dead body in a room talk less of a plane, I'm sure majority of the do-gooder here will fill very upset 2 have a dead body beside them.
Death is so common that i shouldnt have 2 be forced 2 grief with another if i dnt want 2
Jealous pple sholud pray 2 be rich enough 2 fly 1st class instead of condenming someone else.
I DN WANT A DEAD BODY BESIDE ME IN A PLANE even if its my family member, seeing will not make me grief more , lockin d body up will not inconvenience the dead
Seeing/seating besides a dead body doent add or take away frm one's grief
BA should apologise 2 ALL its passengers on that flight no matter the class

Oluseun Adewusi, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria

It is quite clear there is something fundamentally wrong if our national carrier BA does not have appropriate procedures in place and staff that are fully trained. Clearly, a corpse leaking body fluids should be placed in an appropriate body bag and sealed – other airlines apparently have a storage closet for such unfortunate events. One would have thought common sense should have prevailed on the aircraft with the BA cabin service director simply activating the seatbelt sign during the corpse transfer to first class. This would have avoided the wailing woman relative problem and if the body had been placed on a first class seat in the bed position, belted and covered with blankets until landing. I would have thought that as this gentleman is a BA gold card holder the very least that BA’s customer service director should offer is a complementary first class fare – as these are effectively allocated to empty seats the gesture would be a zero cost to BA. Is it any wonder high revenue earning customers are leaving BA in droves and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is flourishing!

MAS, Cambridge, England

What was wrong with the seat she was in? Why did she have to be moved?

G Skinner, Aberdeen,

I feel sad for all parties here. As a nurse experienced in the care of the dead I am extremely shocked that there are no apparent contingency plans for sudden death on an aircraft. It should be an integral part of the cabins crew's training. I suggest that these measures be put in place.
During training cabin crew should be introduced to the concept of sudden death thoroughly. They should be made aware of the psychological consequences for relatives and other passengers. They must understand that sensitive handling of all parties is imperative.
They must be made aware that a corpse, by its very nature, is a dangerous thing. Cross infection is a real risk. They must be aware that some sort of infection may be present. At death muscle groups that control bladder and bowel function relax, causing problems of leakage. Odour can be a problem.The staff should have access to a specially designed body bag which is discreet and secure.
The airline need a policy for where to store this.

KE, Nottingham, UK

I don't think it would be a good thing to lock the body in a cupboard, just in case it is a false death in which the person is only apparently dead. I agree with Rosi; Mr Trinder should have been less squeamish and more sympathetic, after all he is a fully grown person. It could happen to anybody and he shouldn't use other people's disgrace to try and get compensation. That's absurd.

Danila, London,

I hope the crew made sure that her seat was in the upright position and her seat belt securely fastened for landing. This is an outrage - one wonders when it was that common sense, compassion and initiative were replaced by cold, blind adhesion to robot-like procedures.

O, Pinion, London, UK

Its not pleasant for anyone to have to be next to a corpse. But does anyone care to at least try to understand the position of the relatives of the old lady... instead of merely thinking about their 3000 pounds that went to waste. Because he's a first class passenger and spent 3000 pounds on his airfare, Trinder doesnt expect that sort of discomfort, perhaps that this is the type of discomfort he feels is more suitable for economy travellers? I would have been totally ashamed of voicing out those thoughts (about the 3000 pounds) as they seem totally selfish and self centered to me. Wouldnt showing some kind of support and understanding to the grieving family have been more appropriate than complaining about their wailing?

bella, bham,

2 words.... "Law Suit"!

Rosi, chicago,

The grandmother of a friend of mine died at her birthday dinner in a restaurant - threw her head back to laugh at a joke and died instantly.

Nobody in the restaurant had to pay for their meal that night.

Perhaps BA could follow the example of a simple restrateur and refund the first-class passengers' fares.

Damian Clarke, London, UK

This is yet another example of BA's lousy corporate paradigm.

'Stuff you' seems to be the mission statement.

If Emirates don't take them over, some one else should.

A truly rubbish airline.

'BA avoider'

g mann, mexico, mexico

Now, let's see: What ought to have happened here? Should BA have dumped the body overboard...or what? Hmmm.
Only he who bears the grief knows the grief.
We all need, on occasion, to be accommodating of each other.

Michele Clavery, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad

Mr Trinder has replied in this forum and stated that the journalist misinterpreted his reply. Give the chap some benefit of the doubt.! This has been blown up out of all proportion. The corpse should have been treated with more respect by BA ,BUT the wailing is out of order. No amount of grief entitles you to put hundreds of people at a level of discomfort that prevents them from relaxing on a long haul flight. Some may have further long distances on arrival at London. Surely BA could have explained this to the wailers and requested they shut up just as they said to Mr Trinder "Get over it"

Jean, Bedford, UK

To Alan Plym, (below) I would say:

I doubt the customer in question feels he "owns the aircraft". Although paying £3,000 for the privelidge of 5 hours next to a corpse might be considered less than value for money.

Perhaps Mr Plym would like to tell me when he's next in the Midlands (assuming he's allowed to travel) and I'll come and deposit a fresh corpse on his hotel bed. Let's see if he feels he warrants a refund. After all, he doesn't OWN the hotel!

Some people..

Mark, Birmingham, UK

If I'd paid 3000 pounds for seat on an Airplane, and had to listen to the wailing, AND sharing a row of seats with a corpse, I'd have wanted my money back. I think BA have a cheek telling him to 'get over it' and it doesn't matter who paid for the flight. I think anyone who flies 200,00 miles in a year in first class, deserves better than that. If I was Mr Trinder, I would be looking for another Airline who would value my business, and the money spent. It's obvious that the above people don't fly much, or if they do, fly economy.

Dave Robinson, Schuylkill Haven, USA

I don't care a damn if the whole damned family died - NO ONE has the right to wail and disturb other people on an international flight, if BA idiots dump their family's bodies next to strangers. There isn't a soul on the planet who isn't able to cry quietly in a public place no matter what their customs and habits are. This family should be compensating Mr. Trinder for their utterly selfish attitude towards others. How dare they wail in any class let alone first class, people buy first class tickets in order to get away from this sort of "I' have my rights and customs and I'll do as I like" person. These people should have thought of their mother's health before taking this flight.

Mr.Trinder you are a better man than I - I would have gone beserk and - not without very good cause. The bleeding hearts here should try flying with a corpse next them and having to listen to its family wailers. BA should offer you free flights for the rest of your life.

economy class flyer, Chexbres, Switzerland

I seriously hope this lady didn't die from anything contagious as the re circulated air throughout this long journey could have affected an awful lot of people whatever class they were travelling in

valerie kent, exeter, uk

What did Mr Trinder think BA were supposed to do? Throw her out the plane? So nice to think Mr Trinder sat there thinking "I paid £3k for this" rather than thinking how terrible to lose a loved one on a flight. And as for having to wear ear plugs so as not to hear the crying, you poor poor poor man, how on earth id you cope!!??!!

Jayne, London, London

I used to work in a BA office and know for a fact that the aircraft in question is equipped with several beds for long haul use by crew members.
So why couldn't the deceased and her family have used these and be given the privacy they desperately needed. The answer..........incompetent staff who only thought of themselves as usual!!!

Dean Munsey, Leicester, UK

surely the lady in question had a seat in economy, therefore the logical thing to do would have been to move her daughter and son in law either side of her, which i am sure is possible in a 747.
I think Mr Trinders statement regarding heath and safety is slightly rash given the length of the flight and the only problem would be prising the lady out of her seat due to the onset of rigor mortis.
British Airways suggestion to ''get over it'' is wholly inappropriate but comes as no surprise given the arrogance of this virtual monopoly.

chip grant, amersham , england

American Airliners always seem to be much more accomodating to frequent flyer's concerns and comments. Besides, the service is tenfold better. If many people decided to fly with one of the American carriers, maybe a message could be sent to the UK ones like BA and Virgin that they need to get their act together and start looking after their passengers and not treating them like animals.

I persoannly fly and recommend American Airlines, who are always very pleasant to deal with from check in to getting off the plane.

Dan Levy, London, UK

How is it that so many people have managed to spell the guy's name wrong??? It's repeated several times in the article at the top of this very page!

Tim, UK,

Why not save moving the dead woman forward so everyone can see, and instead move her and her family to the back of the aircraft and put a curtain across...They could have moved some passengers from this area to the spare seats in the front.. I saw this done on a flight when someone died.
If I had paid £3k for a seat I would have been upset as well. Not at being near to the poor old lady and her family, but at the attitude of the staff..I also fly many miles on business with BA and have often found staff to be arrogant...these days airlines cant afford to upset too many people in such a cutthroat business if they want to survive.

Alison, London, UK

I am a Purser with BA and have also been in the unfortunate position of having a customer die whilst on one of my aircraft just an hour or two after leaving Beijing. On that flight we, as I'm sure the crew on the Delhi flight had to, removed the person concerned from their seat and performed CPR for a minimum of 30 minutes before accepting that we were not going to be able to resusitate. In my case, after accepting that we were going to have to carry a corpse to LHR, I placed the lady into two large plastic bags and put her on the floor in the crew rest area at the rear of the aircraft and covered her with blankets. Her relatives were allowed to 'say goodbye' and then returned to their seats. This was very distressing all involved, although hopefully sensitively managed and contained. I agree with many of your commentators and think it is appalling that this unfortunate lady was dragged through the aircraft and displayed in First. It was absolutely not necessary.

A Holland, Reading, England

However uncaring it may seem, the body should have been isolated in a loo for infection control reasons, unless there is some alternate body storage capacity built in.

All travellers should know that this would happen to them in the case of them dying on board a plane and then we wouldn't be "shocked" at hearing of it.

The first-class passenger's reaction is very understandable and the airline's response sadly unsympathetic to him. He should certainly have been quickly and quietly refunded his fare without question and thanked for his understanding in a difficult circumstance.

Many of the shrill responses above are just based on prejudice against wealthy business passengers. I should point out I am not one and have only ever flown economy.

I also feel that the members of crew who had to deal with this difficult situation should have been rewarded with a token of thanks from their employers.

In other words - put the science first but retain compassion

C Allison, Brechin, Scotland

I think Alan Pym has somewhat missed the point. I don't think Mr. Trinder's comments related to the fact he was in first class, I'd be deeply concerned by the presence of a corpse sat near me regardless of what ticket I had opted for.

So Mr. Pym, would you be happy sat next to a dead body on the bus? No I didn't think so, you grow up and stop berating people for having the means to afford first class travel

Phil Dyson, Leeds,

I think if the Airline personnel would of been more compassionate to Mr. Trinder he would not of felt this way. Maybe..... wake him up and explain what had happened and what they intended to do instead of telling him to "Get over it". He may of been a little more understanding.

Roberta, Dexter, NY

Mr Trinder should be thankful that he was in first class. A particularly loopy B.A. hostess once told me that she had once propped up a dead person in economy between two other passengers!
The two passengers did at least , however, get an armrest each.

arnoldo, Coventry,

I can completely understand why the crew would not have considered placing the unfortunate passenger and her family in the crew's rest quarters – the crew might have had to stay out among the other passengers and actually work. I would be very upset to have a deceased person placed in a seat next to me and I think it ludicrous that BA’s management have taken the attitude they have.

Ronald Miller, St Louis, USA/MO

Why don't I find this story suprising? I resolved last year never to fly BA again unless they could prove a change in attitude and outlook. I had always chosen BA in the past as carrier of choice, more out of habit of its safety record and National carrier status than any real research. I was forced however to take a flight to LA on Virgin due to a mix up and found that their level of service was just so much better. I've now flown all classes on both airlines and can say I think the level of service in Virgin economy is at least the equal of that in BA business. You get the impression nothing is ever too much trouble for Virgin staff. BA by comparison seem to send their staff to somekind of finishing school that drills into their staff they are superior to and shouldn't have to do anything for the passengers. From mild indifference in Business class to outright couldn't care less in economy. Would be interesting to see how Virgin would have dealt with the complaint, think i know.

Jon, London,

I think Mr Trider should grow up and stop acting like a child. He needs to understand that by paying for a first class seat does not mean that he owns the aircraft.

How would he like to be treated if the roles were reversed?

Alan Pym, Exmouth, England

I think this is one of the most disgusting and disturbing things I have ever heard. It is unbelieveable and quite unnacceptable that BA have no strategies in place to deal with death. Certainly a body should not be in view of any member of the public - not even in an empty row of seats and the poor relatives should be able to grieve in a private area.
Judi Lincoln. UK

Judi, Lincoln, UK

As a BA Silver Card holder and frequent traveler, I believe that BA should have a procedure in force on all types of aircraft where an unrevivable corpse should be quietly stored out of sight of passengers. I believe that Mr. Tinder deserves 1 First Class round trip ticket of his choice in order to compensate him for the grief and upset in the 'First' cabin!

Haig Artan, London, UK

I thought it was only the people who travel in economy that
had to endure poor service on BA They have no respect for their top customers so what chance do we have in economy.Some attendants have a very arrogant attitude towards passengers & it had better change before the harder times come or there will not be any customers wiiling to travel on BA

C Smith, Burlington, Ontario /Canada

I understand both sides. Maybe BA couldnt do anything else. But at the end of the day, he paid 3000 so should be refunded most of that so he would have ended up paying same as economy.
I usually travel with virginatlantic in upper class and thats not because I am rich. I save hard for that because its a luxary I enjoy and I would be well annoyed if I didnt get what I paid for. Paul Trinder paid for a service that boasts of comfort and flat bed AND LUXARY FOOD.I can bet he lost his appetite and the sleep he paid for he didnt get, due to the family making the noise.I would expect a refund if that happened. Wouldnt expect compensation on top though. And I dont even believe thats what Paul Trinder was after.
I was tempted to try out BA first class but I wont unless I hear that Paul Trinder and indeed the other passengers in first class get refunded most of their cash back.

Donna O'Brien, London , uk

I would tell Mr. Trinder what the BA staff told him: "Get over it". I doubt very much, as he claims, that Mr. Trinder himself "paid more than £3,000 for this" (I suspect it might have been Capital Safety that footed the bill). Regardless, I am disappointed that Mr. Trinder feels that "his" money should have ensured that his avoidance of embarrassment and discomfort was seen as more important than the needs of a grieving daughter and son-in-law.

Jonny, London,

I can't help but feel that the people who feel the plane should have landed and alternative arrangements made for the transport of the corpse have not thought things thgouh enough... wasn't the flight on route from Delhi? If so then I think you'll find that to land and force the grieving family to make other arrangements would have been unfair and unjust.

If this man feels that he was unfairly treated that day then he needs a severe reailty check - there were far more important things to deal with that day than his comfort. Maybe at the very least he and others like him will realise that money can't buy you everything, sometimes you have to take a back seat regardless of how much you have paid for your ticket.

B.A. were right, this gentleman does need to 'get over it'.

N. Sorensen, Croydon, UK

BA needs to compansate Mr T. Its their fault, they must be prepared for these types of situations. Its amazing that they are aware of deaths on their flights for so long, but STILL have nothing in place. I feel for the poor old woman and family. For Mr T, please get your money back from these incompetent BA crew. Sitting next to a dead person for so long is no joke. When someone is dead, they are not part of the living. Therefore, we bury them, with respect. I am sure they could have landed at the next airport somewhere, but costs do matter to them as well?

L Zinyama, NYC, NYC

Please guys, the flight should have arrangements for these things. I am with Paul Trinder. Be it a first class or economy class , I wouldnt want to endure 10 hrs of journey like this.

Vinutha DS, Des Plaines, IL

So every time a person dies on a plane, the other passengers should be compensated? It's not the airline's fault. I'm yet to see anyone suggest a win-win situation.

Sara, Brisbane,

You would have thought such a clever man like Mr Trinder would have some commonsense as well. The obvious thing is surely to move to another seat and if nothing was available in first class then use the seat vacated by the deceased's relative. However with my jealous monster green eyes maybe to stay in his own seat was more favourable to joining the great unwashed!.

Andy, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

Surely long haul aircraft should carry a couple of body bags. Either a diversion to off-load the body and have it appropriately forwarded on ie. in a body bag and coffin in the hold or at least a body bag and stowage in the crew quarters would have been more appropriate.

kim, falmouth,

This is one way to get a free upgrade, I guess!!

Paul Borger, London,

Trinder does have a point in the sense that the airline should not have imposed this on him. I however feel that he is very insensitive, we are talking about a dead body here, no one planned for the poor old lady to die and for her family to grieve(its what humans do, hello?) .. I feel given the circumstances, that's all the flight crew could have done. But they could have gone to the passengers in 1st class and informed them of what had happened before moving the body..i would have been absolutely terrified to wake up and find a dead body near me, admittedly its a very uncomfortable sight especially if its a stranger. But given the fact that these sort of incidencies occur 10 times a year, BA should have a much better procedure in place. I believe that he may have exaggerated their reply to his complaint, i don't believe he really deserves compensation but perhaps a simply apology for the inconvenience caused but £3000 does not give him the right to lose his sense of humanity.

Esther, Coventry, UK

I think that the airlines should carry body bags too just as Nik from London said. As Airlines stewarts and pilots they already know that this can happen so why not take precautions in case of an event like this. One the poor elderly lady's body should have been treated with respect and I don't think that she would have wanted people she didn't even know staring at her and then the poor man should not have had to deal with this. Some people don't know how to cope with death and death is disturbing. I think that the Airline could have dealt with this a lot better.

Charlotte, New York

Charlotte, Watertown, NY

That's one way to get a free upgrade I guess. I hope they didn't charge the unfortunate woman given the unusual circumstances!!

Gordo, London, UK

I've been saying for a long time that service is dead in this country but BA has quite literally taken this too far! They have shown Mr Trinder that his loyalty to their airline means nothing.

Ian Nesbit, Newbury, UK

Every Airline should have procedures in place for an incident such as the one Mr Trinder experienced. Death will occur at any time any place. It has nothing to do with whether Mr Trinder has compassion and so on. BA should have shown some compassion by compensating all of the passengers in 1st class as the problem lies with them not having taken into account death whilst flying. If you pay for a service be it in economy or 1st class you should receive that service otherwise the company responsible should compensate as they failed to put procedure in place. It cannot be pleasant knowing that a dead body is within your reach and a grieving family whom you cannot help feet away from you. Having a BA representative telling you to get over it IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. BA need to improve on their staffs brusque attitude and stop manipulating their passengers. BA staff almost have a license to abuse their passengers no matter what the circumstances.

Mrs P Maclean, KENT, UK

It sounds to me like the most disturbing thing (other than the obvious one of waking up next to a corpse) was the wailing and crying of the relatives, which seems to have exacerbated the situation. OK, BA needed to put the body in 1st, but why did the relatives get an upgrade so they could sob? If they did need to be with the body for religious reasons, perhaps a gentle and comforting word asking them to restrain their ululating might have not gone amiss?

These were adults, not crying babies, and could have exercised some restraint. If any other passenger had screamed solidly for hours, either in 1st or economy, I am sure those diplomatic nannies on BA would have found a way to speak to them and get them to pipe down.

J Hynes, London,

My opinion is that Mr Trinder and other passengers affected should sue BA. I hope he does!! To expect any customer to sit next to a corpse that is propped up as a living patient is negligent, and totally unacceptable! It is also an insult to the living relatives of the dead woman, who rightly were brought to first class to grieve. Their handling of their response to Mr Trinder (as a first class passenger especially) makes me wonder why anyone would fly with this airline!

I stopped using BA years ago. They treat their staff and contractors badly and their customers with contempt. Their only concern is for their directors and shareholders.

The most sensible suggestion in this thread is by Gerry, from Kent. BA were not equipped with qualified staff to pronounce this woman dead. They should have removed the woman to the captain's quarters in lieu of anywhere else more private, or in lieu of a proper procedure, and landed the plane or turned around.

J Salisbury, Reigate,

Why should the 1st class passenger take the dead woman's economy seat?! Why should anyone, for that matter? What a ridiculous suggestion. Why didn't they just leave her "as is" in the seat in which she died and ask those around her to move to the seats of the "living" daughter and son-in-law so they could be with her? He has a right to be upset. I would be too. What did putting her into an open 1st class seat accomplish? Nothing. It's not his problem and the airline shouldn't have made it his problem.

Curtis Calvert, Kansas City,

My condolances to the family of the lady who died.

Some commenters have suggested that Mr Trinder should have offered to take the dead woman's seat.

Have you seen what happens to a body after it dies? It oozes body fluids. Airlines have to replace the seat covers after someone dies on one of their planes. It would be completely unreasonable to expect anybody to sit on a seat vacated by a corpse.

And for the airline not to at least carry a body bag, in order to contain the body and any of its, er, emissions, is grossly unhygenic.

I hope the staff who moved the body washed their hands before food service!

Damian Clarke, London, UK

Is David from Dublin really suggesting that Mr. Trinder should have volunteered to go and sit for several hours in a seat in which a woman had just died? Wouldn't that have been even more unpleasant? Poor man.

Nik, London, England

How can someone behave in such a self- centered manner! I'm sure it must have been a somewhat uncomfortable experience, but he should get over himself and think of those who lost their loved one instead of himself.
I think that BA did absolutely the right thing, and certainly did nothing in my view to disrespect their customers.

Anne Christine Dean, Zürich, Switzerland

Mr Trinder should not have been thinking about himself at all at this time. If he wasn't able to offer a kindly word or deed, he should have kept himself to himself. How stressful it must have been for the airline staff. How upsetting is it for a person to lose their mother at any time, let alone in such difficult circumstances as on an aeroplane. Compensation for Mr Trinder? Get over it, and get over your own ego!

Mary Davies, Milton Keynes, Bucks

They should have locked the body in a toilet space.

It's out of respect for the living.

Roland, London,

I mean how inconvenient! Really other passengers should not be allowed to die on planes. We pay money to be shielded from the nasties of life and I think BA have failed terribly in this regard. He should demand his money back! And as for grief being a private thing - it obviously is where he comes from but certainly not where they come from. You would have throught somebody who travels that much would possibly be slightly more open to the vague differences that exist between cultures in this beautiful world of ours.

Jason M, Glasgow,

I do understand, there are about 10 deaths a year during the BA flights and there can't be a contingency plan and an extra body bag on each aircraft, an extra storage space, just if someone dies. But, I do understand First Class passengers worries, it's not pleasant to sit with a corpse, it's awful to listen to wailings, I have enough when there are small babies who can't stop wailing during the flight. These things happen 10 times a year, Mr Trinder was unfortunate, so why not compensate him with a free First Class flight (they go empty anyway and are used to upgrade their own BA staff and relatives). BA is unreasonable, I do agree, I have experienced it so many times. Horrible customer service attitude.

Telma, London, England

BA's reaction to Mr Trinder is appalling but totally predictable in my experience. After flying extensively across the Atlantic for several years I have learned to avoid BA at all costs - poor service and an arrogant attitude being the main reasons.

John Turner, Barrow Upon Soar, Leicestershire

With the statistics BA has given us (those being that 10 people die each year on board), some sort of plan surely should be implemented. Putting a dead body in the "nearest empty seat" doesnt really sound quite good enough for a multi-million pound organisation.

Stewat Bell, Manchester,

How disgusting! The poor man should definately be compensated. I hope his own health hasn't suffered too much because of this. How shameful of BA to allow this!

Caroline A, Manchester, United Kingdom

This is a good example of why I travel private. Commercial airlines (in any class) do not really respect their customers.

Mark Watkins, London, United Kingdom

Mr. Trinder should grow up. Anyone with a sense of decency would have excused himself and offered to take the dead woman´s seat. His gold card status has clearly distorted his sense of his own importance !

david, dublin , ireland

If BA are going to promote first class travel as the way to fly in a civilised manner, they cannot expect to dump dead bodies in First Class next to paying passenger. They should have diverted and landed allowing the body of the dead woman and her family to make proper arrangements.
They would have been able to grieve in private instead of disturbing a plane-full of passengers. No one likes to be sat next to a screaming baby for hours on end, why should they want to listen to a wailing woman? It's not a question of compassion or lack of it. It's a question of BA honouring their contract of flying their passengers according to what they can expect to receive by flight class.
If you pay £3000, you can expect peace and being treated properly, with due respect to your well-being.

Sarah Hague, Montpellier, France

trinder should definatley get over this, what a selfish statemet to make a passenger had lost their life and trinder is worried about the cost of his ticket?
I would like to know does trinder have any other suggesetions what the crew could of done other than place the corpse in first class? It sound s to me like they used their initiative and was likely to be more of an unplesant experience for thge crew than it was for poor trinder.

molly, bristol, england

I know Mr Trinder personally as an acquaintance. I can assure you all he is a caring and loyal person. He is very successful, works all hours and runs a global business employing thousands of people. From my understanding his point was that the way BA acted was not professional, was not caring for the family of the deceased woman and did not show any kind of concern for the other BA customers on the plane. He DID not ask for compensation from BA - you must all know surely, not to believe everything you read in the papers! i have read every comment below - it strikes me that the majority of people out to "get" Mr Trinder are victims of the green eyed jealousy monster - no we cannot all afford to fly first class (me included) - thats life - may i sugest that you "get over" that fact as well. If you were all the deep caring humans you claim to be then just maybe you would show some of it in less vitriolic personal insults to somebody you have not met - except thro the pages of a paper

Martin, Milton Keynes, UK

It is not something that happens everyday. It is however hard to find the proper answer when the aircraft is full. Whilst I would hate to be the captain of the aircraft that has this dilema I would use the crew rest module which is fitted to the B747's. There is one in the ecy class as well as the actual sleeping compartment just aft of the captains seat (first floor) which is used for the longhaul technical crew.

Peter J CESNIK, LJUBLJANA , SLOVENIA (EU)

Poor woman- she may well have been scared of flying but trusting her daughter to look after her.

Daniel, London, UK

Surely after all the years of flying experience that BA have under their belt with all manner of difficult situations, you would assume that they have a set routine for deaths in flight.
One dead body and a plane load of people is a situation that should be handled with great care, not only for the passengers but also the bereaved relatives that may be onboard. To prop this poor lady up in a seat in full view of other passengers is just not good enough (not to mention very unhealthy). The least they could have done was to discuss the situation with Mr Trinder and give him an option to move away from the body.
All planes should have a suitable "body" storage cupboard/area where the deceased can be placed out of sight and away from other passengers.
BA has shown once again that it's not thinking enough if at all.

David Farnham, Maidstone, England

I feel BA had a real problem here. Mr. McGee's suggestion of moving the people from the dead woman's row sounds reasonable but presumably that would have led to the situation becoming more obvious and half the second class passengers wanting to move.

I assume they pretended the woman was ill and needed medical treatment at the front of the plane - possibly the best thing they could do in the circumstances. I assume there was no access to the cargo hold in flight - I assume this is not pressurised - but there should be some facility to carry polythene body bags and ice in the event of this happening and the corpse somehow transferred to the hold.

Brian Fargher, Birmingham, England

I was on a Luxair flight to Morocco a few years ago when a man unfortunately died of a heart attack. The captain immediately asked for clearance to land and bought the plane to ground somewhere in Southern France. We were asked to leave the plane quietly and were detained for about four hours while they carried out their inquiries, calmly and swiftly. We then carried on to our destination.

The whole episope was carried out with thought for the corpse, his family and the passengers.

Although I feel some of Mr T's opinions sound harsh and unreasonable, I think it must have been a truly unpleasant experience for all concerned and can not believe a 'world renowned' (?) company such as BA could handle the situation with such lack of consideration for all parties. They really should get their act together.

Allison, Luxembourg,

Somehow I see Basil and Sybil Fawlty, as the cabin crew ably assisted perhaps by Arkwright . With Rowan Atkinson as Mr Tinder you have the makings of a new comedy

adrian, Burnley, England

Just to add my voice. It is not a questions of sympathy for for the bereaved! Yes people do die. But surely he didn't board the plane to be sympathetice to others or sit with dead people espeicially considering that he was never alerted or asked if he'd like to change seats. I'm sure they could have found another empty seat.

But again, that is BA for you. Sympathy or no sympathy death or no death, it simply isn't the flight to choice. Period!

Edmond Asare, Kampala, Uganda

This is yet another example of BA not doing enough to resolve a situation. Do they know nothing about good PR ? Agreed it's not their fault that this poor lady "expired" on the flight but it is in their best interests to look after their best customers. It is this sort of attitude from British Airways and their staff which has forced me to switch airlines. I suggest Mr Trinder follows suit.

Simon Clough, Dubai, UAE

They should have vacated the row where the lady was originally seated, and moved those people to first class. DUH!

Ben McGee, Sydney, Australia

Its delightful, comical. All good things come to he who waits. I decided long ago never to fly BA again after a minor dispute with a call centre representative of theirs ( that is if you cna even reach someone). Of ocurse, my dispute pails into insignificance with the grievance of Mr. Trinder. I only hope he can find an enterprising lawyer to sue and donate the money to charity.
And now for something completely different!

Peter, London, England

If I died on a flight, I would rather be put in the hold with the luggage, than inflict my ROTTING CARCASS upon anybody else. Surely any unselfish person would feel this way? What is the benefit in having the corpse sitting with the passengers?

The man should be compensated, even if he had been sitting in economy. A dead corpse need not be inflicted upon anyone in this situation. BA should carry bodybags in future, and stick the dead in the hold.

nicko, sydney,

Peter's comments (with detailed analysis) miss one rather obvious point.

If the cabin crew didn't want their space occupied by a corpse (and this is clearly the wicked truth of the matter) surely a passenger, whether first class or not, faced with sharing the flight with a stranger's dead body has, at the very least, the right to a full refund and some warning of the dead body about to be dumped next to him!

Why not put the deceased lady and her grieving family in the private crew area where they can have some privacy and dignity and let the crew sit in the seats vacated by the grieving family?

Or are BA conceeding that seats in economy are unsuitable for resting crew members, but fine for paying passengers? And in any case, they don't give a damn about their passengers, even when they fly 200,000 miles a year with them!

Mark, Birmingham, UK

It's a hard one, I think it's selfish to look at a woman mourning the loss of her mother and complain about "the noise". sure you wont sleep for the very long trip, and yes, you can't say anything to make it better but have a little sympathy, Trinder is a very, very cold man if he think he wouldn't cry out loud in the same situation.

The airline staff had little other option, sure, the toilet sounds like a good idea, but how would the daughter have reacted knowing her very recently dead mother was already cast aside as a burden.

But the reply, "get over it" is very harsh, that is a shock, I've never flown with BA and seeing a nasty snap of a reply like that doesn't encourage me ever to, denying a refund is their decision but they could have given a reason or apology, no one wants to see a dead body.

Derenger, Drouin, Victoria

If you read Air Babylon it gives you a amazing insight into the world of travel including what they do with the dead . There is no point knocking airlines - from a customer´s point of view it is best "shifting" the body so everyone can get to the destination. Entirely fair to me.

Mushtaq, Nottingham, England

The issue isnt about life and death, first class versus economy or even the empathy one can feel for a family in this situation. It is about an airline, who advertises itself in a certain way and then does not deliver most of its promises. It is also about keeping your customers happy even if that means having to give tickets or refunds when warranted. To attack Mr Trinder's character reflects badly only on those who are doing so. British Airways might not have had control over what occurred on that flight but they certainly have control over how to make amends now, and it is their attitude to their customers which is most alarming. I suggest flying Qantas in future, they seem to offer a few "very special perks" to their first class passengers

Anna, sydney, australia

As a student doctor - and thus used to dealing with death, had this have been me who woke to find this event happening around me, I too would have been horrified.

Is it dignified to haul this poor lady past all the other travellers?

Good on you Mr Trinder - manners cost nothing.....take heed BA.

Student doc, staffordshire, England

It's Karma. Mr Trinder's 200,000+ 1st class air miles carbon foot print has come back to haunt him.

Mark Davis, London, England

I just wonder how Mr. Tinder would have reacted if it were his mother or wife that had passed away and the only other location to move the body was to the first class? If he were to accompany the body, would he rather be in an area that is cramped with many eyes focusing on his grief or would he rather be in a more isolated area to grieve without as many eyes? I think he should have been more sympathetic and realize that after many flights he has taken, that this one incident has happened only once on a flight he was on. It is not a routine practice. Airlines have many policies, but sometimes thing happen that there is no way of helping. They can do only so much at 40,000 feet in the air. Some respect and dignity must be shown to the deceased also.

TRACEY LOPES, Boston, USA, MA

I can't believe Mr. Trinder wasn't asked - or didn't offer - to move back into the economy area of the plane in order to allow the grieving relatives some privacy. If my mother were to die in such circumstances, I too would be unlikely to contain my grief!
His me, me, me attitude seems to reflect what's wrong with society today. Yes, £3,000 is A LOT of money to spend on a flight, and the airline needs to revise their approach, but it's probably true that in life we have more choice about how we are transported around the world than in, er, death shall we say?
My advice to Mr. Trinder and anyone else that finds the lofty price tags they pay unreflected in the service is to opt for economy next time. If more people were to talk with their feet then airline bosses might get the message: in this day and age, people actually do expect more - whether that's the stress-free space that £3,000 should buy, or a dignity zone for the dead! Also spare a thought for the staff; touching a dead body..

Trudy Harlem, London,

Wow, it doesn't take much to kick the class warriors into action, does it?

Whilst it is deeply regrettable that the lady died this first class customer didn't know her from Eve and I for one think that his shock at having to sit next to a cadaver for five hours is totally understandable. I would also agree with anyone sitting in an economy seat who felt a little aggrieved at their lot.

Surely the bad guy here ain't Mr Trinder (and remember he hasn't exactly been beatified in this article has he?) but BA. This story would probably not have come out if they had treated the situation - and yes, the first class passenger - with some decency.

Bobby, London,

With all due respect Mr Trinder, stop complaining and have a little compassion for the family who lost their loved one. We are turning into a nation just wanting to reap benefits out of others misfortunes.

Richard Eve, Plymouth, UK

How truly disgusting this man is to complain that his rest was disturbed by a grief stricken daughter - he should be ashamed of himself - I really thought I had heard it all. I travel Club World and on occasions First, I am also a gold card holder. As I sit there in my seat I cant help but notice these fat cats, getting on board and winging straight away - It's almost like a hobby to some business passengers.
Thank god that the crew had the sense and awareness of dignity to move the lady. Could we imagine the headline if she had been left in economy surrounded by hundereds of passengers?

andy, Manchester, UK

I would be appalled if someone had put my deceased mother in a toilet! Not an option one has to be sensitive to the relatives even if Mr Trinder is not.
However the staff were unprofessional and should have informed passengers before relocting the cadaver to first class. Surely they could have relocated a few first class passengers to economy and given privacy to the family by allowing them connecting seats in first.

elaine, Dubai,

Since this may be the only way I may once again fly first class, I am all for this post mortem perk.

Robert Fox, Dallas, Texas

Of course Mr Trinder is within his rights to complain. If there is any evidence of a lack of sensitivity on display here, surely it is, (assuming, that is, the report is accurate), on the part of the staff of British Airways for not choosing to recognise a legitimate cause for complaint. I would have thought that one of the reasons for paying such a large sum of money to travel first class, is that it allows you to arrive at your destination completely free of any stress or worries that a lengthy flight may incur. Isn't that just the very theme of the advertisements BA themselves ran for their first class travellers, in recent years. The hygene problem is also a concern and this is a clear example that BA's contingency plans for an event such as this, are woefully inadequate. BA should do the decent thing and pay compensation to anyome on that flight who was at least inconvenienced and possibly even traumatised by this unfortunate incident.

Roger Barrington, Longkou City, Shandong, China

Even though having a dead body sit with other passengers is obviously unacceptable, and they should have done more to keep it quiet, how do you think the airline workers and the family felt? Would you want your mother shoved in a closet after watching her die? The other passengers need to deal with it and get over it, because they know if they were in the same situation they wouldnt know how to handle it. Stuff happens and things dont always turn out how you want them do, and money doesnt fix that. Money doesnt guarintee a safe trip or that the plane wont crash, and it doesnt guarintee that a corpse wont sit by you, and that lesson was now learned. How were the flight attendants suppised to handle it, "sory for the inconvience?" they had to carry it! in this situation, everyone is thinking only for themselves. Its no different than having a dead body in front of you at a funeral. Get over it. Imagine how the family feels. The passengers could have looked away.

Christina, Glen Burnie, MD

When I get on a plane I don't expect to sit in an airtight conditioned room with a corpse. BA IS at fault and should have a proceedure in place which also doesn't have grieving people watched by disturbed passengers.

How can you defend BA's response... "get over it"? Absolutely disgusting.

Louise Beard, Iida, Japan

To D Cook, London, UK:

Thanks! My comment was not intended as a comprehensive history.

John Snow certainly deserves mention in any serious history of disproving the miasma theory. However, he merely showed that cholera was somehow related to the water supply, without proving that there was anything fundamentally wrong with the idea that bad smells caused disease. Proof only came with the establishment of microorganisms as the real cause of diseases. Others who made major contributions include Joseph Lister, Robert Koch, Ronald Ross, and Walter Reed, but it was Louis Pasteur who first recognized the connection between disease and living organisms!

Dr. Shank, Lima, Ohio

Surely the BA crew could have put the dead body in a toilet and put an out of order sign on the door and locked it. I would be appalled, like Mr. Trinder ,if I had a first class ticket and was subjected to a dead body and weeping and wailing. British Airways should have been more sensitive and used a little diplomacy. I would think that Mr. Trinder is entitled to a refund.

Penny Dawe, Wantage, Oxfordshire

"The crew I am sure behaved admirably as they have been trained to do. "

If that's behaving admirably, then that explains a lot about British service.

Yes, Mr Tinders is being extremely insensitive, but not telling him about what was going on, and then telling him to "get over it" was plain rude.

Starling, Lancaster,

The whole thing is very unfortunate and of course the family of the deceased have presumably been further distressed by the press coverage. However, why is the complaining passenger being criticised at all?

If I was paying either £300 for economy or £3,000 - £4,000 for first class travel I would expect the provider to have a reasonable policy that isolated any dead bodies from the living passengers. Hardly unreasonable! BA have said they lose a large number of customers every year 'in-flight'.

Death is bound to happen, from time to time, but not having a policy to deal with it or the decency to recognise that a refund is due in such circumstances is just cynical profiteering and highlights a very poor attitude to customer service. If there was a BA exec in 1st Class would the cabin crew have sat him next to the corpse I wonder..

Mark, Birmingham, UK

It is unbelievable that anyone would find it wrong for Mr. Trinder to complain, I guess there are many in the world that still have an us and them attitude. We are all capable of taking the benefits of 1st class if work hard enough in the free world. If I had paid £3k for a flight and it ended up like that I would at least expect my money back, I hope he gets some compensation.

Mark Randall, Kings Hill, Kent

Having a dead body sit with the other passengers during flight is totally unacceptable and disrespectful to both the passengers and the departed. The body should have been placed in a private storage area away from other passengers or at least have been covered with a blanket. If my mother were to die on a plane, I wouldn't want her body left out with the other passengers for everyone to look and stare at. Also, the passengers pay good money for a comfortable air line trip, but when a deceased corpse is brought within several feet away from the passenger accompanied by her wailing daughter, then the comfort in the trip is kind of sucked away from the passenger, especially when that passenger realizes that there are still more then five hours to go on this flight. The departed and the passengers were all treated with great disrespect and should be compensated by the BA for the incident to help the passenger “get over it” because getting over an airplane trip with a corpse sitting beside you isn’t exactly something everyone gets over so easily.

Bob, Mississauga, Canada

I personally think it is outrageous how BA treat their passengers I think Mr Trinder has every right to be very upset I myself would be extremely angry. I think both parties concerned have been very badly treated.

Esme Fleming, Worthing,

I wonder how many people realize that on most flights theres are deceased individuals in the "cargo area " of most planes. As a funeral director, this is very common on many flights. This person should have had more respect for the deceased indivdiual and there family then just concern over his money. This just confirms where humanity is headed, my sympathy to the family and my lack of belief in society to the "inconvienced passanger"

William, New York, USA

To Dr Shank , Lima Ohio

It was John Snow who disproved miasma theory not Louis Pasteur. He discovered Cholera was water based from the Broad St pump in Soho

D Cook, London, UK

I agree with D-M, NW, UK. This has nothing to do with class or money. I personally would not like to wake up next to a corpse. Where is the consideration for the him as passenger. He should have been told what was going on first and given the chance to move if he would like. He woke up to find the body at the end of his row. What was he to do, tell them to move it so he could move or jump over the woman. First of all when people die, everything kind of goes. Body fluids to do not stay within the body as the muscles do not function anymore. Who knows what the lady died of? Who knows what illness she might have had? I understand it is a tragic situation, however I don't want to be exposed to that. The gentleman should not have been told to get over it. He was exposed to a decomposing corpse. Yes it was a tragic situation, but respect goes both way. He deserved his as well as the corpse.

MD, TN,

The response from BA to the passenger was typical, I gave up flying British Airways years ago because of the insensitivity of the staff on board. Staff comes first,and the passengers are not to be considered

Marguerite Saling, Grass Valley, CA USA

For those worried about the lady getting medical attention and being professionally delared dead, my experience as a doctor on long haul fights is that a minimum of 2 doctors usually respond to the call for a doctor. Illness on long haul flights is relatively common, usually brought on by lower oxygen in the cabin and dehydration, especially in the elderly.

You have much more chance of getting an infection from other living passengers than a dead one.

CBP, Yorkshire, UK

The most important thing to consider in this debate is this:Compare your own feelings faced with the loss of a loved one to the feelings you would have at being inconvenienced as Mr Trinder has by an event such as this.
The answer is obvious.
I have no doubt that Mr Trinder did find the situation deeply disturbing and he lost out on some sleep and the comfort he normally expects with 1st class travel, but 5 hours is a long time and the fact that Trinder has failed to contemplate the bigger picture of life, death and loss during this time is more than deeply disturbing.
Modern society normally protects us from having to deal with a situation such as this. Dead people are whisked away in a flash.You don't have to deal with it. This time Mr Trinder did have to deal with it.
The crew I am sure behaved admirably as they have been trained to do.
And what of the other 1st class passengers? Unlike Mr Trinder,it seems they understood.
Compassion is the issue here not compensation.

Jamie Lee, Oslo, Norway

I agree that most posters seem to have more of a problem with Mr Trinder being able to afford business class than anything else (and no, I have never flown business class so am not protecting my own interests).

Why on earth didn't the BA crew seat the body and family, three of them I believe, in the window seats and put up in-flight blankets as drapes to prevent other passengers 1) viewing a grieving family who require privacy, and 2) allow other passengers a peaceful flight.

Of course a fresh corpse will move around with turbulence which could be quite disturbing. In the past I have worked with several people who have been absolutely terrified of dead bodies due to their cultural beliefs re spirits leaving the body etc.

Mr Trinder should be reimbursed the price of his flight, and mainly for the "get over it" comment so rudely and typically supplied by BA.

Maya, dubai,

Mr Tindra, you're a selfish man. All you kept thinking was how much you paid for a seat? Is that more important than the respect and hostility you should show others in times of distress? What did you expect BA to do, keep the corpse in economy class where space is cramped? Rather than complaining you should have put yourself in the shoes of the woman's daughter. It's really sad to see you complaining about others misfortune coming in the way of your enjoyment.

vs, london, uk,

First class passengers have no more or less rights than an economy passenger, all they are paying for is more space, better service, and wider selection of food and entertainment options.

If somebody died in first class should their body be shifted back to economy? No of course not.

The issue here is that BA did not have any proper procedure to deal with this.

In this situation the staff did what they thought was best given the options open to them.

Mr T, has shown a complete disregard for the relatives of the deceased and the unfortunate staff who had to deal with this - they will clearly be MUCH more disturbed than him.

MIke, london,

I travelled with Qantas a year ago and very sadly an older woman who joined the flight in Singapore died despite attempts to revive her. The staff took the passengers from the back row of the plane and laid her body out. I was left in the row in front of the corpse with my three year old and asked to be moved so I did not have to explain to my child what was in the row behind us. The qantas staff resisted but I kept asking and eventually I got moved. When I called qantas after my arrival to ask that I not be sat at the back of the plane again on my return trip they told me there was nothing they could do about my seating and that there were no health risks from a dead body (which is just barmy). This must be incredibly distressing for the family involved and there must be some better place to store a body for everyone involved ( in first class or not). This whole incident was badly dealt wtih by Qantas in my example. The airlines need some better solution for when this happens.

john, london,

Very unfortunate turn of events. The crew could have moved people from the back rows of economy to first class to make room for the deceased and family members.

Ray, Okotoks, Canada

first class on British Airways: better food, free booze, more room and better service. Oh and in the event of a death: A corpse at your side with a wailing family member by theirs. Lets be honest, people in first class pay A LOT of money for their seats so they dont have to sit next to the ghouls behind them...especially not dead ones.

Everyone in first class should have their money refunded....while it is not the fault of the airline...it is prudent for them to resolve this issue diplomatically and to be sensitive to all of the living passengers on board.

Amirshnikov, McLean, Virginia, United States of America

I find it interesting that the staff chose to put the body in 1st Class, on all BA 747's the have a staff quarters at the back of the plane. This area is partitined with hard walls and a locked door, why would the staff not use this area to accomadate both the body and the grieving familly mambers? This option provided a solution that kept the disturbing site of a dead body away from the other passengers and allowed some privacy for the grieving family members. Could it be that the flight crew wanted to protect their own space to rest rather than provide approriate comfort to the family of the dead passenger?

Chris Price, Los Angeles, USA

If I could afford to fly first class, I would not expect to have a dead body sitting metres away from me, and to be told by staff to "get over it". You would want the air line to have procedures in place to deal with situations like this. I can't understand why people think Mr Tinder is the bad guy in this,we all have a right to complain.

Shame on you

ann, Bedford, uk

The real issue here is not whether or not Mr. Tinder should be granted a refund. He got where he was going afterall, though with some unfortunate unpleasantness en route. My question is this... will BA refund the deceased woman's ticket? She certainly was not in receipt of the entirety of the service for which she had paid. I suggest a prorated refund based upon the aircraft's actual location at the time of her demise - less the rental charge for the pillows of course.

Debra Halbig, Vancouver, Canada