What a fascinating topic. I often wondered what the policy (if any) for compensation was for Australian carriers. Now that I work for an Insurance Brokers (in HR, definitely not one of
them!) I see the issue being more complex.
But of course, I have my own experience...
A few years back, I was flying a domestic flight on a European carrier on the continent. I suffered from a medical 'emergency' and an on-board Doctor attended to me for almost the entire 3 hour flight. He moved to the seat next to me (he was originally in J) too.
A week later, I asked the airline formally (my roommates worked at the airline so I spoke with a senior rep) what compensation the Doctor had received. They advised me that it was not '
their' policy to offer any, and as a medical practitioner, it was his responsibility to serve. Well that's right bollocks if you ask me. When I am on annual leave, I am not going to run a mediation session, write a policy or fire someone (except perhaps that particular airline rep). It was also their policy to not provide me with the Doctor's details. I respect his privacy, but also believe in sending a thank you and recognising someone's efforts.
To cut a long story short (a shocker for me - hopefully you will get used to my long posts!), I managed to convince the gentleman to provide me with the Doctor's details; thankfully he too lived in Madrid. As well as a nice bottle of Australian (of course) red, I paid the Doctor for his J fare. He sent me the cheque back. I sent him a credit with the airline - which he graciously accepted on the provision that I allow he and his wife to take me to dinner (I think we were both out to out-impress the other). That was a nice way to end it - though I feel I made him lose more of his personal time, though we all honestly enjoyed the evening.
He told me that he too had a high strike rate on flights, and that I was the first pax that had sought to thank him. I think though, they probably didn't get the opportunity to from the airline. Moral of the story - I suggested to the airline that they send a formal thank you note at the very least. I also told Doc to leave a business card in the pockets of those patients who are still alive and kicking after the flight. The point made about Doctor's being human too is important. This kind samaritan had a wife who for the duration of the flight wondered what her husband was doing... Doctor's are like every other passenger on board and should have no special expectations upon them - and if they do step up, recognition is essential. At the very least it is good PR for the airline to a demographic that have the facility to travel more than say a Retail Assistant, and more likely than not in J, or at least not a web-deal once a year. Karma people, it goes around
