FORMER British prime minister Gordon Brown and his entourage were involved in a mile-high argument after passengers, including a pregnant woman, were bumped out of business class on a flight from the Middle East.
FORMER British prime minister Gordon Brown and his entourage were involved in a mile-high argument after passengers, including a pregnant woman, were bumped out of business class on a flight from the Middle East, UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday reported.
Passengers on the British Airways flight from Oman to London lost their seats before Brown's entourage boarded during a stopover in Abu Dhabi.
Passengers were told there was a sudden "overbooking" problem, meaning that some would move to inferior seats and a few would not be able to travel at all.
When they saw Brown's six-strong entourage board the plane, some passengers became infuriated because they believed they lost their seats because of him - something denied by the airline and Brown's office.
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The pregnant woman tried to take a photo of Brown to use in a complaint to the airline, prompting a furious response from his aide, Kirsty McNeill.
"I blame BA more than Brown, but Ms McNeill was seriously unpleasant," said the woman, who did not want to give her name.
A spokeswoman for the airline said Brown's arrival on the flight was a coincidence and that he was unfairly blamed by the mutinous passengers.
"The situation had absolutely nothing to do with Gordon Brown," she said. "We have apologised to (the complainant), and we have offered to pay compensation. It is very rare for a customer not to be able to travel in the cabin that they have booked, and we are extremely sorry that this happened on this flight. Gordon Brown and his party were booked in advance and were not involved in any way."
A spokeswoman for Brown said that "as BA has made clear, the arrangements were nothing to do with Mr Brown, who had booked his flight and seats well in advance and made no requests for - nor received - any special treatment."
FORMER British prime minister Gordon Brown and his entourage were involved in a mile-high argument after passengers, including a pregnant woman, were bumped out of business class on a flight from the Middle East, UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday reported.
Passengers on the British Airways flight from Oman to London lost their seats before Brown's entourage boarded during a stopover in Abu Dhabi.
Passengers were told there was a sudden "overbooking" problem, meaning that some would move to inferior seats and a few would not be able to travel at all.
When they saw Brown's six-strong entourage board the plane, some passengers became infuriated because they believed they lost their seats because of him - something denied by the airline and Brown's office.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
The pregnant woman tried to take a photo of Brown to use in a complaint to the airline, prompting a furious response from his aide, Kirsty McNeill.
"I blame BA more than Brown, but Ms McNeill was seriously unpleasant," said the woman, who did not want to give her name.
A spokeswoman for the airline said Brown's arrival on the flight was a coincidence and that he was unfairly blamed by the mutinous passengers.
"The situation had absolutely nothing to do with Gordon Brown," she said. "We have apologised to (the complainant), and we have offered to pay compensation. It is very rare for a customer not to be able to travel in the cabin that they have booked, and we are extremely sorry that this happened on this flight. Gordon Brown and his party were booked in advance and were not involved in any way."
A spokeswoman for Brown said that "as BA has made clear, the arrangements were nothing to do with Mr Brown, who had booked his flight and seats well in advance and made no requests for - nor received - any special treatment."
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