Passengers found themselves sitting on the floor of a plane all the way home

A bad surprise for the Taylor family on board their TUI Airways (UK) flight between Menorca and Birmingham. In June last year, the family of three spent a nice holiday on the Balearic island. Arriving well before their flight, the family was assigned seats 41 D-E-F.

During boarding, the family and crew discovered that their seats didn’t exist, due to a last-minute change of aircraft: the new plane had a different seat configuration which did not include seats 41 D-E-F. While the daughter was assigned a regular seat, the crew asked the two parents to sit on the jump-seats for take-off and landing.

As the crew had to perform the meal service, the family was then asked to sit on the floor, just behind row 40 D-E-F. The crew thanked the family for their understanding.

Financial compensation

After the flight, Paula Taylor complained to the airline. TUI Airways offered the family €30 as compensation. After contacting the British consumer programme “Rip off Britain“, the family was paid back the full ticket price. The airline apologised and explained that the problem resulted from a last-minute aircraft change with a different seat configuration.

Meanwhile, the British Civil Aviation Authorities announced to BBC that – under certain conditions – passengers are allowed to sit on the jump-seat but for the entire flight. Sitting on the aircraft’s floor is certainly not allowed. The CAA has questioned the airline about this special procedure.

Tomorrow’s edition of “Rip Off Britain” will broadcast this unusual story on BBC One at 21:15 (UTC).