How would you feel about this on a plane

[eyeeyeeyeeyeeye]

Couple made to sit next to a dead body of a lady who died onboard

apple.news/A8Nu4zbMtRYOtJwBUKIhyqw

I note that they were specifically for the longest haul flights...

Yes, I also picked up on that about the "cupboards" Singapore used to have, @SheilaFentiman

I'm reminded of the same thinng being provided on cruise ships, where given the demographic there's sometimes a much larger chance of a passenger dying, especially on very long cruises
Then again, of course, there's much more space on a cruise ship ...

Oh this happened to me many years ago (outs self) I was on a flight home from Greece and the chap next to me died. His wife was ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HYSTERICAL which is understandable but made everything so much worse.

I asked to be moved because she was driving me nuts, more than because of the dead body. They initially refused, but when I explained I was ex crew for another airline, and happy to sit in jump seat, they allowed that.

This dead bodies are very heavy so it's easier for the alive passengers to move if their was empty seats. I think its better to put the person who had died in a seat then on the floor. Passengers/customers etc have a way of exaggerating stories when looking for compensation

@SheilaFentiman

Note that they were specifically for the longest haul flights...
In 2004, Singapore Airlines' Airbus A340-500s were no standard aircraft.

I know when what at time was known as “Ultra Longhaul” kicked off (introduction of the 340 and the 747-400) there was a bit of talk around this issue, especially as around the same time or a bit later there seemed to be a bit of an increase in the average age of those very long haul travel -the demography on some Uk> US and UK Southern Africa trips was interesting.

End of the day I know where I was working we did not introduce the sort of system Singapore had, firstly the stats didn’t really justify it and TBH, as alluded to by @TickleMyPickle , it could be highly difficult for the crew and highly traumatic to a lot of passengers to move a deceased person from one end of the aircraft to the other.

Why did the flight continue for four hours? Wouldn't it have made sense for the plane to land somewhere so that the lady could be taken off the plane? I know it would cause a delay, but I think everyone would have understood, given the circumstances.

But the staff need their rest and to have breaks for safety reasons. And have you seen the size and position of the rest areas, the body was too big to move around the plane, they'd never have got it into the rest area.

A number of years ago, DH and I were on an Emirates flight back to the UK when an elderly man sadly passed away.

The crew were incredible. The man was travelling with a number of family members. Not a full flight but nearly so. A number of passengers sitting at the back of the plane were very quietly moved to other seats. The man's family were then moved to the back of the plane and he was carefully carried back (on a trolley seat, I think). The family then sat with him.

When we landed at Heathrow, the family and their loved one were then taken off the plane via the rear door before we taxied to the gate. No one moved. Everyone that plane was very respectful and the crew were clearly well trained in such scenarios.

Something clearly went wrong in the latest situation. It should have been handled with more respect but it may well have been impossible to physically move the woman much further.

The passengers should have been moved to protect the dignity of the deceased woman.

The reporting is definitely off. Fix it BBC News.

Depends on circumstances but the incidents I’ve heard of the deceased is often travelling with family or might have family waiting for them at the arrival end of the flight…

Diverting into somewhere possibly remote or very foreign to offload the deceased could be a nightmare for family (think repatriation of remains) so it’s often considered best to carry on.

It is of course completely different if you are dealing with a medical emergency and a diversion might save a life.

It seems very strange that the crew didn’t move them away from the body. It’s usually normal practice to be as discreet as possible, for passengers and the deceased. I’m ex crew. Thankfully never experienced this, but I would have tried to be as dignified as possible.

Quiet seat neighbour, could be worse 😁

They’ll never divert for a death. There’s no point - nothing can be done at this point, and a diversion costs a fortune, so only happens if it would save a life. It’s better the body gets to its destination, or is then returned home. No point dumping it in a country elsewhere.

Not sure how I feel about this comment to be honest. The wife was driving you nuts ? How disrespectful her husband had just died!

You try spending four hours next to someone screaming and shouting and grabbing at you…

That's what I don't understand.

They said there were some spare seats around, but the cabin crew only moved her and he "had" to remain.

If there's spare seats around why did he not just say "I'm going to sit in that spare seat over there" and move himself??

@MirrorMirror1247 what @notimagain and @Honeyroar said, but also, the Melbourne-Doha route is over the ocean a lot of the time. Diverting to eg India after 10h of flying had already happened might not have been much quicker.

If there are no seats to move alive passengers to …. They must remain. Flight attendants cannot move a deceased person to another seat, or drag them along the floor. It’s not like in the movies where a body is easy to move.

I read something where the man said he though he should talk to someone (ie a counsellor or similar) to see if he was OK - it absolutely sounded like clutching at straws and hoping for a payout, presumably he knew if he was OK or not!

What? If there were spare seats why couldn't he go in one?

I would've moved to an empty seat if there were any available. Not sure why they would just sit there if they were not comfortable with it.

I understand it would upset some people and I don't blame them.

But it wouldn't bother me, personally. That body is someone's daughter, wife, mother, friend and if they were 'sat' next to me in death for part of their journey then I'd just be pleased to 'keep them company' for that bit of their journey.

I think because to move, he’d have had to climb over the dead woman.

from the article:

The couple claimed that the cabin crew told them they had to remain in their seats next to the body

that's why they didn't just move seats presumably.

Personally, if I'd sat next to a dead body for 4 hours at the start of my holiday I'd want compensation too!

I don't think that would bother me, unless they'd soiled themselves in their death throes. In fact, I'd probably volunteer to sit next to a fresh corpse over sitting next to a fidgeting, snoring, talking live person.

However, I fully appreciate that most people would definitely not be comfortable sitting next to a cadaver and that I'm probably an outlier.

Can you imagine dragging a heavy, lifeless person down the whole length of an aircraft, potentially past 2-300 passengers, through the kitchen area and into the flight deck and keeping the dignity of the deceased! With potentially a few lightweight female stewardesses to do it. Not a chance! Better to get them into a seat discreetly if possible so most of the passengers will be in aware. Occasionally, as sadly someone on this thread experienced, it may be that it’s not even possible to get them into a seat. Which must be heartbreaking.

And storage on aircraft is becoming less and less available on modern aircraft- they cram as many seats in as possible. It’s hard enough trying to find space for baggage.

Did you watch the video on the BBC link? The couple had four seats in their bit and were in sitting in two of them.

I think cabin crew didn't communicate as well as they could and it seems like the wife moved because she asked if the dead woman was being put in the seat and then a lady on the other side of the aisle flagged to her that there was a spare seat by her.

Crew should have checked, but they may have thought that, because the wife moved and the husband did not, the husband felt OK with it.