Sleeping passenger left on JAZZ plane

[midwingcrisis]

Sleeping passenger left on plane
British passenger discovered by mechanic at YVR 1½ hours later; airline apologizes for gaff, saying flight attendant was preoccupied with wheelchairs
By Damian Inwood, The ProvinceApril 6, 2010 A British law professor is slamming Air Canada after the airline left him asleep on a plane for 90 minutes after it landed -- and he woke up in a hangar at Vancouver International Airport.

He says he's not satisfied with the airline's explanation that the flight attendant was dealing with several wheelchair passengers and didn't check the rest of the cabin.

"It's absolute craziness," said 31-year-old Kris Lines, head of sports law at Staffordshire University.

"The last thing I remember was taking off from Calgary. I knew I was safely on board and there was no further destinations and it was all good.

"Somebody would wake me up at the end."

What he didn't expect was to be woken by a mechanic after the Air Canada Jazz plane was towed into a hangar at YVR.

The incident happened on March 6, when Lines was fast asleep near the back of Air Canada Flight No. 8229 from Calgary. He said he was slumped against the window with a bright-red jacket on the seat beside him.

"I'm a heavy sleeper, so I drank Coca-Cola on the transatlantic leg to help stay awake," said Lines, who spoke to The Province from his home in England. "I hadn't been drinking alcohol."

Lines was coming to Vancouver to speak at a sports conference and visit a colleague in Kamloops.

He flew to Calgary from London's Heathrow Airport and had a two-hour stopover before continuing to Vancouver. Lines left home at 5:30 a.m. and his final flight was due into Vancouver at 6:42 p.m.

"I'd been up for about 24 hours," he explained.

Lines said that, when the Vancouver mechanic woke him, he was disoriented and in a rush to grab his bags and jacket and get off the plane.

"He said, 'Don't worry. You should have got off an hour-and-a-half ago,' " added Lines.

"They took me off the plane down the steps into a hangar, took me into a room, photocopied my boarding pass and said, 'This sort of thing shouldn't be happening. Somebody's neck's going to be on the line for this.' "

Lines said he sent an email of complaint to Air Canada.

"If I'd been a vulnerable passenger, a young girl or elderly, it could have been a lot worse," he added.

"The other implication is that if I was a terrorist, then I've got an hour-and-a-half after the plane's landed, all by myself, in a secure area on a plane."

Lines said he was unhappy with Air Canada's response.

"I suppose the moral is, next time I fly to Canada, I've got to wear something a bit more reflective or glow-in-the-dark so someone can see me."

Lines received an email from MaryAnn Morgan, in Air Canada's customer-relations department.

"Although there was no excuse for the incident that occurred, it appears the flight attendant on this occasion was dealing with several wheelchair passengers and co-ordinating their departure from the aircraft," Morgan wrote.

"Although the flight attendant advises he did look back into the aircraft to check for any passengers still on board, he did not walk through the aircraft cabin as he was engaged with handling the passengers in wheelchairs requiring assistance.

"I can assure you that no previous incident of this nature has occurred and that this matter has been thoroughly reviewed with the crew member concerned and other crews operating similar aircraft to ensure an incident of this type does not happen again."

Morgan offered Lines a "one-time saving" of 20 per cent on up to four tickets "as a gesture of goodwill."

"Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to you on this occasion," she added.

Air Canada Jazz spokeswoman Debra Williams also apologized, saying the airline operates about 800 flights a day and "this was an isolated incident."

"It is standard operating procedure for inflight personnel to check the aircraft after a flight for passengers and any belongings that may have been left on board," she said.

Williams added that the company conducted "a thorough review with the crew member involved and with other crews operating similar aircraft to ensure that an incident of this type does not happen again."

[208Drvr]

Way to go Jazz!

[nottellin]

Typical lawyer, he is already over dramatizing the incident. For sure it shouldnt happen but saying things like good thing he wasnt an old woman or a young girl, I dont know to AC mechanics have a thing for old ladies and little girls?

[Mig29]

whatever...now we need personal baby sitters too I guess!?? (for those over 18 )

maybe everyone from Jazz ran off to the press conference when the news broke about buying Thomas Cook (aka Skyservice )

[shamrock104]

Too funny- genuine mistake, get over it and grow up.

[IBPilot]

British passenger discovered by mechanic at YVR 1½ hours later; airline apologizes for gaff, saying flight attendant was preoccupied with wheelchairs
By Damian Inwood,

What he didn't expect was to be woken by a mechanic after the Air Canada Jazz plane was towed into a hangar at YVR.

"I'm a heavy sleeper, so I drank Coca-Cola on the transatlantic leg to help stay awake," said Lines, who spoke to The Province from his home in England. "I hadn't been drinking alcohol."

Never heard of this before. Kinda reminds me of home alone. If the plane was not going into maintence and the next flight was a light load, he could have ended up hells knows where...

First of all, if he's that much of a sleeper that he didn't feel the landing, the PA announcements, the rustle and deboarding of the passengers, then maybe air travel is not for him. What's going to happen in an accident situation when there is only a split second to escape the aircraft... I have fallen asleep on many flights and have either woken up because of the landing or because the guy next to me shoke me.

Also, the fact that AC JAZZ didn't do one walk through of the cabin is quite shocking. Don't they always do a quick sweep of the cabin to make sure that the plane is ready for the next flight. Now, taken, the plane was going into the hanger but still, a person with the wrong intentions could pull this same stunt, stay on the plane, hidden away and do damage when the plane goes into the hanger. Now, don't draw your weapons yet, I know this is an extreme view but it is a valid view that Jazz should be considering.

I say, always do one quick walk through at the very last minute.

Regards

[cyeg66]

Kinda surprised they didn't see him seated back there. It's not like the crew have to comb through a 777 with 300+ seats and multiple seating sections. It's a freakin RJ!!! In any event, this guy should lose the soother, stop whining, and get on with it. It's not like he woke up in an airplane that's parked at Victorville or Davis-Monthan and that's about to succomb to the guillotine... And buddy, you're not doing it "for fear that it could happen to an elderly or young person". More appropriately, it's called "for personal gain."

[RatherBeFlying]

If there was another flight, the cleaners would have spotted him, or the cabin crew would have noticed the headcount was off, or he would have been woken up to check his seatbelt.

[Old fella]

If a 31 yr old male can sleep through a squat seat/departure noise/rocking and rolling/arrival/cabin noise/people moving about/cabin announcement/a JAZZ thumper/fellow passengers getting out of their seats/overhead bin openings........ I think this young fella has a medical problem relating to some type of deficit/attention span disorder. Medical consultation should be his first priority prior to the first available law firm bottom feeder.

If anybody can fall asleep with our dicks in our hands, it is old goats like me, not youngins. Even with me usual tank of Keiths Red, it is damm difficult to sleep on a CRJ-200.

[polar one]

Well I am quite sure that more than a few here have enjoyed the opportunity to voice their opinions on this individaul 's unsuitabilty for air travel, pesonal gain, dramatization, etc.......
Did any of you, even for a moment, before jumping into the mindless mob frenzy consider that it might just be the media that is overdramatasizing the incident so that the ignorant unwashed would have something to gossip about and a person upon which to vent their hostility.
After all, as eveyone in aviation already knows, the media reporting of any aviation incident is always factually correct, fair and balanced. Certainly enough to base comments about the persons motives.

After all, I did hear there were concerns he was actually a terrorist...a sleeper terrorist...or maybe that was a sleeper tourist..Shouldnt matter to the gossip lovers as long as the word appears.. And a lawyer..wow...all lawyers ever think about is suing people..good of the media to mention his occupation.

I also heard he was passed out drunk after being overfed alcohol from an amourous male flight attendent, who, upon being rejected, left him at the back of the plane with an I love Al Quaida button...this was not mentioned in the media because it was initially thought he was wearing an I love westjet button and so was hushed up for political reasons (It was only in English)

Now , back to the wild speculation, rumor and gossips

[Sasquash]

Wow! you can actually sleep on a Skidoo?

[xsbank]

This passenger is the victim! Amazed as I am that he can sleep on an RJ, the cabin-crew pooched it.

Where do you get off attacking the victim?

[co-joe]

Wow I'd be happy if I could get 5 minutes of sleep on a plane. What with all the damn announcements, people offering you stuff, noise, etc.

Holy cow, hats off to the flight crew...that must have been some greaser of a landing! Seriously, how do you sleep through that? That's not a nap, it's called a coma!

[the professional]

Sounds like an Urban Legend, heard this story a few times throughout the years.

[loopa]

Typical lawyer, he is already over dramatizing the incident. For sure it shouldnt happen but saying things like good thing he wasnt an old woman or a young girl, I dont know to AC mechanics have a thing for old ladies and little girls?

Well said.

[MZUNGO]

"If I'd been a vulnerable passenger, a young girl or elderly, it could have been a lot worse," he added

cuz the mechanics at jazz would have robbed him??? or worse

oh yeah what the guy above said

[Meatservo]

I think it's pretty funny, I wish I could sleep like that.

[Siddley Hawker]

I'd be so feckin' embarrassed to have slept through a landing, taxi and de-planing I'd never admit it. This twat seems to think it's grounds for a lawsuit.

[godsrcrazy]

Hat's off to the Jazz crew for landing that baby so smooth that they didn't wake this clown up. Let's not forget all the passengers and flight attendant for being so quiet to allow him to sleep.

Just goes to prove that people will launch a law suit for anything. I wonder what itwould take to wake this clown up.

[MUSKEG]

A fellow student of my brother's fell asleep in math class. Head on the desk, blisfully dreaming as young men do. The bell rings and some of his friends went to wake him only to be met by the teacher. Leave him sleep, he said. Student awoke half way through next class. He never slept in school again. Laughter was heard for many days at his expense. I gurantee this pax will never sleep on a flight again. I also wonder if he was in one of those alcohol induced sleeps.

[cyeg66]

I don't remember reading anywhere that he's suing Jazz. He's just making a little bit of noise via the press. The airline goofed, and he is a goof. No biggie. Had it been me, I would've been ecstatic to find myself airside and getting a 'free' tour of the hangar and airplanes. I certainly wouldn't bring it to anyone else's attention.

[Braun]

He's just lucky I didn't find him first.

[kingeddie]

To Funny

I keep picturing a greasy engineer poking him with a wrench saying "hey ,,,you dead"

[208Drvr]

This was one passenger out of how many on the RJ? So how many are they going to not see on the 757's?

[Sparkfarmer]

Seriously, A lot of flight crews are in such a panic to leave it seems, is it so suprising that this could happen? I've been on one flight (disgracefull performance you two hawkair boys...) where they shut down, WENT BLACK and left a plane full of passengers on board! Pilots were the first two off! Not even on ground power/ground service... Now I'm not saying this is normal, but ask yourself honestly, are you looking to get off as quickly as possible after a flight? Are you seeing that the checklists are followed, pumps are off, etc, or are you looking to bail? Is the flight over when you get to the gate?