BA closes first-class cabins
British Airways has this morning confirmed that it has closed its first-class service on a number of flights because of a shortage of cabin crew.
Michael Holland, managing director of Jubilee shipbuilders, reportedly told The Times newspaper that on a recent flight from Heathrow to Tokyo the first-class cabin was closed, which led to business-class passengers being downgraded to economy. He added: “It was a shambles; everyone was seething.”
A spokesman for British Airways this morning told News From Abroad: “We can confirm that due to staff shortages we have been forced to close first-class cabins on a small number of flights. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused to passengers.”
The carrier is reportedly planning to recruit up to 300 new cabin crew, along with 100 check-in staff, to cope with the shortages. Today’s edition of The Times quotes a director of “one of the UK’s largest travel-buying companies”, who reportedly told the newspaper: “I cannot believe they would do such a thing.”
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