Bed bugs bite BA

[thewinchester]

All I can say is ouch!

Airline apologies for bed bug scandal
15:30 AEST Sat Feb 26 2011 By ninemsn staff

A US woman who was ravaged by bed bugs on a British Airways flight from Los Angeles to Bangalore has received an apology after she posted images of the bites online.

Zane Selkirk, 28, first noticed the bugs when she switched on her overhead light during the night and spotted them crawling on her finger and the airline blanket.

Ms Selkirk, a product manager at Yahoo, rushed to the bathroom and was horrified to see bleeding bug bites on her back and four bugs clinging to her shirt.

"I turned on my light to find bugs crawling on my blanket and a bedbug-blood-spattered shirt," she said.

And the return trip from Bangalore to LA was no better.

"I left my 10-hour flight to find my body covered with 90 bug bites," Ms Selkirk said.
"The worst part was the non-existent customer service throughout the 10-day ordeal."

BA has since acknowledged that two planes were infested with the bed bugs and have since been removed from line operations while the problem receives the appropriate attention.

Bed-bug Airways: BA grounds two jumbos after woman tells how flights left her covered in bites
By Ray Massey, Last updated at 10:41 AM on 26th February 2011

BA’s spokesman said: ‘We have written to Miss Selkirk to apologise for the problems she has described on her trip and reassure her that we take such reports seriously.

‘The presence of bed bugs is an issue faced occasionally by hotels and airlines all over the world. British Airways operates more than 250,000 flights every year, and reports of bed bugs onboard are extremely rare.

‘Nevertheless, we are vigilant about the issue and continually monitor our aircraft.
‘Whenever any report of bed bugs is received, we launch a thorough investigation and, if appropriate, remove the aircraft from service and use specialist teams to treat it.’

 

[JohnPhelan]

This may actually be a little more complex. If you read the lady's blog, she says she was bitten by bed bugs on both inbound and outbound journeys. She also says no other pax appeared to have the problem.

Whilst BA have apologised and pulled the aircraft to give them a thorough check, I believe they have NOT admitted that the bugs were there prior to the lady's flights.

A suggestion has been made on another site that it's an awfully big coincidence that the same lady was bitten on both flights, but no one else reported a problem! The inference being that, if she was bitten on the flights, she may be the one who brought the bedbugs on board!

Reading her own website is interesting - she appears to have been demanding compensation (i.e. an upgrade to J) at every turn, which makes the cynical amongst us wonder ......

 

[Mal]

There is something very strange about that story.

So when will the movie "Bugs on a plane" get written?

 

[Madam Mina]

While there may well be more to this story than has been reported I don't actually find the idea of it ridiculous. Given the infestation problems that have been being experienced in several cities around the world (most notably NY but Sydney has had a pretty big problem too) Bed bugs having been accidentally carried on board by a passenger who has stayed in a infested hotel is pretty likely.

Having had the misfortune of having these horrendous creatures in my home I am absolutely paranoid about them now as it was quite simply the worst experience of my life. The first thing I do when entering a hotel room now is to do a thorough check of the bed and linen to make sure that there are no signs of the little devils. I was told by a reputable source a while ago that there is a cinema complex in Sydney that is infested which would be a similar situation to a plane.

 

[haydensydney]

... there is a cinema complex in Sydney that is infested which would be a similar situation to a plane.

Can you let me know which one? I often go gold class and am often wondering about bed bugs in those lazy boys

 

[Nigelinoz]

Don't they regularly fumigate aircraft anymore?
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Madam Mina]

Sorry they refused to say which one only that it was in the "East". FWIW I regularly go to Event cinemas in the WBJ and have never had trouble there (actually the story has made me reluctant to go else where) I got the impression it was perhaps one of the ones close to the city as the worst bed bugs problems have been in Surrey Hills/ Redfern area I believe although my building and a friends have had them and we are both in beach side suburbs so I could be wrong.

 

[oz_mark]

Don't they regularly fumigate aircraft anymore?
Cheers
N'oz

A bed bug infestation can be difficult to eradicate and often will need specific treatments.

 

[Nigelinoz]

Probably not a good idea to post the name on a public forum anyway-we wouldn't want admin getting a nasty letter from a cinema chains solicitor would we?.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Last month I did SYD-BKK-LHR on BA (biz) and felt extremely ill on the SYD-BKK leg... advised the crew I would be seeing a doctor/hospital in bangkok and may not continue on to LHR. Crew didn't care about me, although they did seem concerned about my luggage causing a delay.

The next day at my destination I was covered in tiny red dots all over my back/neck/shoulders/arms/legs. Was gone the following day.

No idea if it was related or a bed bugs flight, either way it sucked.

 

[sr81]

Last month I did SYD-BKK-LHR on BA (biz) and felt extremely ill on the SYD-BKK leg... advised the crew I would be seeing a doctor/hospital in bangkok and may not continue on to LHR. Crew didn't care about me, although they did seem concerned about my luggage causing a delay.

The next day at my destination I was covered in tiny red dots all over my back/neck/shoulders/arms/legs. Was gone the following day.

No idea if it was related or a bed bugs flight, either way it sucked.

This doesn't quite match up with my experience with bed bugs. Have been done twice once in Sarajevo and the other time at the Mercure in Hobart.

They cough*ING hurt. Didn't feel ill just very, very itchy and a slight touch would set them off.

After I got home from the Mercure my Mum and I went through my clothes and found two of the little buggers in my PJ's. This is how they travel so, trippin_the_rift , if you had bed bugs then wash EVERYTHING in very hot water and repeat. You may also want to throw out some things that have multiple folds and the critters can hide. I realise that your trip was a month ago but it sounds to me that you may have been bitten by something else.

Bed bugs are known for having very itchy and sore bites but not ones humans get sick from. That said, pretty poor response from BA.