BBC Watchdog: Budget airline charges for medical emergency

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
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Jet2.com is an airline that says it will fly you to exotic holiday destinations for less than £20. It claims to offer "friendly low fares" but while they might be low, it's questionable how friendly they are.

One couple say that Jet2.com has got more front than their home town of Blackpool after the airline sent them a bill for thousands of pounds.

Clare and John O'Brien booked flights with Jet2.com in February for a two-week break in Tenerife - the first holiday they'd had in three years.

"John had had some health problems so we waited until he'd had been discharged from the hospital even though all the consultants told us there was no reason we shouldn't travel by air. But we just decided to wait until everything was clear," Clare told us.

They both had a lovely holiday, eating out and topping up their tans. It was perfect - until the flight home. They'd been in the air for about two and a half hours when suddenly John fell ill and collapsed. The flight attendants gave him oxygen and found a doctor who was on board. Clare told him about her husband's previous medical history.

John was given aspirin and the pilot came out and told the doctor that he was in a good place to divert the plane if need be. John insisted he was OK but the doctor said that he couldn't guarantee his condition wouldn't deteriorate. The plane was now flying over Spain so the pilot diverted to the nearest airport where John was taken to hospital.

The doctors there suspected that John may have had an epileptic fit and they advised him to see his own doctor when they got back to the UK.

"We went to the doctor the next day and the doctor disagreed with the diagnosis and said it sounds to me like you've just fainted," said Clare.

Surprising letter
Their travel insurance covered the medical bills and replacement flights home. But just when it seemed everything was sorted the O'Brien's received a surprising letter from that 'friendly' airline, Jet2.com. It was a bill for £4,365, for what it said were: 'costs directly associated with medical diversion of flight'.

The O'Briens forwarded it to their insurance company but were told that the airline should be claiming from its own insurance. Jet2.com claimed it was the passenger's responsibility. The company said the bill was perfectly justified because according to them John wasn't fit to fly - even though Watchdog has seen proof from his doctor that he was. Jet2.com has refused to budge and the couple couldn't afford to pay.

Clare was devastated and feared a knock on the door from a debt agency as they were told the matter had to be settled within 30 days. "They should not be causing passengers to feel like we do," she told us.

"I've had sleepless nights, waking up at 4am in the morning. It's certainly put us off ever flying again."

We spoke to James Healey-Pratt, an aviation lawyer, who said he's never heard of an airline behaving in such a way, telling us: "I think it's wrong morally, wrong legally and wrong commercially for Jet2.com to seek to get four and half thousand pounds from the O'Briens for a decision that Jet2 made.

"Where there is a medical diversion the airline bears the cost or the airlines' insurance bears the cost. They do not seek that cost back from the unfortunate passenger who was ill and so to do that here seems to be entirely unique and out of place."

Watchdog contacted Jet2.com who've now apologised to the O'Briens. Crucially the company says it won't now be asking them to foot the bill.

Jet2.com's statement
"Firstly, Jet2.com would like to make an unreserved apology to Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien. It was never our intention that they should personally settle these costs as we believed they should have been covered by their insurance.

"We do appreciate the distress that this situation has caused them and we have taken the decision to cover the O'Briens' costs ourselves. We have reviewed our policy in this regard to ensure that all similar expenses are covered by us now and in the future."



Budget airline charges for medical emergency