British Airways has just updated its policy regarding how passengers can behave onboard flights, as flagged by PYOK, and it’s a sensible change that we’re seeing at an increasing number of airlines.
In this post:
British Airways bans recording crew onboard aircraft
British Airways has just updated its general conditions of carriage. Specifically, in section 11a, which addresses unacceptable onboard behavior (or “behaviour,” as they say on the other side of the pond), the airline has added the following:
If, while you are on board the aircraft, we reasonably believe that you have filmed, live streamed or photographed our crew or other colleagues without their consent, we may take any measures we think reasonable to prevent you continuing your behaviour.
This goes on to say that anyone who violates rules surrounding behavior onboard aircraft may be subject to punishment, including being forced to leave the aircraft, the airline refusing to carry passengers on remaining sectors of the journey, or even involving law enforcement.
This seems like a fair, sensible policy change
There’s no denying that the way that people behave onboard aircraft has changed over the years. There’s an increasing number of people who take pictures and videos onboard aircraft, especially for social media. For that matter, some people think it’s appropriate to take pictures or videos of the crew if they have something they want to complain about, so this is intended to address that.
Adding these rules around onboard behavior seems totally fair, and if anything, I think the airline didn’t go far enough. As I see it, the rules should also indicate that you can’t film other passengers without their consent, since that’s also a reasonable courtesy.
Admittedly sometimes the line is blurred a little. If you’re taking a selfie on a plane to remember your holiday and there’s a flight attendant 10 rows back who appears in the corner of a picture, that shouldn’t be an issue. Meanwhile if you’re that influencer who was furious when a Qatar Airways crew asked him to stop filming them, well, I think that’s exactly the reason for this rule. 😉
Airlines have increasingly been updating their contracts of carriage to add these kinds of rules, as British Airways isn’t alone here, in having issues with this.
Bottom line
British Airways has updated its contract of carriage, to indicate that passengers aren’t allowed to take any photos or videos of the crew without their consent, and failure to follow those rules could have them removed from the aircraft, could result in a ticket being canceled, etc.
Unfortunately this is becoming increasingly necessary for airlines, given how onboard behavior has evolved.
What do you make of British Airways’ rule updates?
In Defence of Sam Chui.
There have been past comments and those below about the conduct of Sam Chui, which in my opinion are inexcusably inaccurate. We were both passengers on an CX aircraft some years ago, I had no idea who Sam was at that time. It was only after checking out some SeatMaps reviews did the penny drop.
During the flight his conduct onboard was exemplary. He treated his fellow passengers and staff...
In Defence of Sam Chui.
There have been past comments and those below about the conduct of Sam Chui, which in my opinion are inexcusably inaccurate. We were both passengers on an CX aircraft some years ago, I had no idea who Sam was at that time. It was only after checking out some SeatMaps reviews did the penny drop.
During the flight his conduct onboard was exemplary. He treated his fellow passengers and staff with the utmost courtesy. Those FA’s whom he asked to assist him were more than happy to accommodate his requests.
Why some berate him on this website is beyond my comprehension ….
Could it be jealousy because he is successful?
Could it be racism because he is Chinese?
Or, could it be the fact that he is heterosexual?
There is overriding proof that he is not the offensive blogger which some attempt to paint him …. his ability to position cameras in cockpits should be enduring testimony to his character.
*defense (sic)
2 spellings, 1 British English, 1 American English.
Thank you RB, 1990Bot is simply being pedantic with me. I suppose that I deserve his attempted rebuttal, I was rather short with him following a very near miss frontal vehicle encounter.
What the likes of 1990Bot forget, is the that if it wasn’t for my English forebears he would be speaking French today. The main thing is that Ben, receives two more clicks.
Tell us you're Aero dumb without telling us you're dumb.
"Those FA’s whom he asked to assist him were more than happy to accommodate his requests."
They must be more than happy.
Because they are paid by the same people that paid for Sam.
Also the same people that can write whatever rule they want.
People don't hate Sam.
We just all see through the hypocrisy.
First answer, jealousy because he is successful. Not because he is Chinese or Heterosexual.
So BA says no to filming BA when they drag someone down isle to give their seat to someone else. And you think you should ask permission to video that? Stupid
Appropriate name, what?
@ClownDancer
Stupid indeed.
Same announcement made on AF yesterday, international and EU flight.
If people were discreet and reasonable with their pic taking/content making I don't think this stuff would ever be an issue.
As an FA (or passenger) am I particularly bothered if someone's picture or video they are sending to their friends back home has me in the background for a nanosecond? No.
As an FA or a passenger am I bothered if someone making content to upload to god only knows what online platforms sticks...
If people were discreet and reasonable with their pic taking/content making I don't think this stuff would ever be an issue.
As an FA (or passenger) am I particularly bothered if someone's picture or video they are sending to their friends back home has me in the background for a nanosecond? No.
As an FA or a passenger am I bothered if someone making content to upload to god only knows what online platforms sticks a camera directed at me to then later provide the 'narrative' on what happened and can control the start and end of said narrative? Absolutely.
And we are seeing way too much of the latter. Especially crew, just trying to go about their normal duties which yes, occasionally puts them into conflict with customers. The last thing they need is the dialogue being distorted by an 8sec 'reel' posted to all and sundry online.
It is just about accountability really. Am I allowed to do whatever I want on a plane even though it annoys other people? No. Can I be offloaded for being incorrectly dressed? Yes. Can I be offloaded for making inappropriate comments? Yes. So this is just another addition to the long list.
I called out sam chui on his channel for just filming another passenger without their consent (maybe 5 years ago). business class, filming a female passenger and how they were served during the boarding process
he just deleted the comment
Agree. It should also discuss passengers.
This is fair enough. People can take photos of themselves, or their food etc. But don't take photos where others get in the photo. This is reasonable.
This is terrible. Airlines are Common Carriers and perform public utilities, and you have rights to document it, just like on a bus or subway.
I hope the EU bans these one-sided clauses in the contracts.
Incorrect. US airlines may be common carriers, but in many other jurisdictions airlines are not. Virgin Australia’s conditions of carriage, for example, specifically states that,
“We are not a common carrier and, acting reasonably, may refuse to carry any person or Baggage, whether or not a Booking has been accepted or processed by us.”
British Airways has a long, long list of reasons why they can refuse carriage, or ban a passenger from travelling...
Incorrect. US airlines may be common carriers, but in many other jurisdictions airlines are not. Virgin Australia’s conditions of carriage, for example, specifically states that,
“We are not a common carrier and, acting reasonably, may refuse to carry any person or Baggage, whether or not a Booking has been accepted or processed by us.”
British Airways has a long, long list of reasons why they can refuse carriage, or ban a passenger from travelling with them again in the future. Refusing to obey a reasonable instruction from crew is on the list.
By your logic, airlines would be unable to refuse boarding to anyone, no matter how drunk, aggressive, uncooperative, or generally disagreeable they are. I’d also suggest that if a crew member of a US airline requests that you stop taking photos you’d be well advised to cooperate.
PeteAU and this is exactly the issue we see repeated time and time again around the world - most recently when some American blogger was filming herself crying because she was offloaded from a Ryanair flight after arriving late and causing the gate agent a b*tch.
Individuals who think the world's rules are the same as the country they are from.
Guess what....they ain't Mary.
I resent anyone who tries to photograph or record me in a public place. I think it is rude and disrespectful.
Of course this was never an issue until smartphones came along.
The FAA law supercedes their terms. Any flight from or to the US, you can film. I would do that just to piss them off.
Then expect a permanent ban. I'm sure they wouldn't notice the lost revenue.
And yet they have opened the gates for pax to accept and make calls. when both acts are just as ridiculous
It's about time they confiscated the i-phonts .
At check-in, or an announcement at the gate should quickly outline certain standards of behaviour. Including noise.
I was not going to read the link, but was curious. An interesting read that all should take a look at.
I loved this!
"We will allow you to use hearing aids and heart pacemakers". Well.....lol
I like this, should extend into general passengers too. Some these social media influencers and content creators totally disrespect people privacy and everybody become their content.
Canada is "this side of the pond". "behaviour" is spelled this way in all the 23 countries where English is primarily spoken as a native language (including Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There is one English-speaking country where the...
Canada is "this side of the pond". "behaviour" is spelled this way in all the 23 countries where English is primarily spoken as a native language (including Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and His Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There is one English-speaking country where the "u" is omitted from words like this: USA.
I've got 7 more paragraphs on this, if anyone's interested. Not to be pedantic.
When the one country is USA, that means something monumental.
Like, the USA is the only country without single-payor healthcare... but we also have the best care for those who can afford it.
Canada, I am sorry to tell you, really sucks. I dated a girl from Mississauga who was rude and just a terrible human being whose parents had divorced (that's another huge red flag, but I digress).
Greenie, but, real talk, how was the 'scent'?
@Greenberg Canada is great - what are you on about?
"The pond" loses its cuteness, after about the thousandth time it is used.
What happened to BA's policy of allowing in-flight phone calls?
Virgin Atlantic have been making announcements about this for quite some time and I see it’s now in article 12 of their conditions of carriage. The amount of vlogging both on the ground in the lounges and in the air has got out of hand.
Now they can wear political pins and never be accountable for it.
Now they can go on a power trip and never be accountable for it.
Because you can't prove it without a picture anymore. If you snitch, you threatened the crew. BA will ban you for life.
You just gotta love privacy for me and never for you doctrine. It's the NIMBY bible.
"Now they can wear political pins and never be accountable for it.
Now they can go on a power trip and never be accountable for it."
Would you like a tissue, snowflake?
Don't ask me willywiener.
You're thinking with your willy again.
Ask the snowflakes who actually called out these flag pins and all those airlines who yield.
Your're 100% correct.
It only reduces accountability, which is the main purpose.
Comes over in a positive way in the cabin pa - you are welcome to take pictures and record as much content as you want during your flight today, but please do not take pictures of the crew or other passengers without consent.
While I hate influencers as much as the next guy, if "flight attendants are here for your safety" then it only makes sense that these security officers in a public place can be recorded. There is no reasonabl expectation of privacy on a flight.
While I agree with everything that’s been said, I think the one situation where it might not be favorable for the passenger is if an incident arises on board involving crew and you are recording, it can give them grounds for retaliation, like kicking you off the flight. Even if you’re just a bystander recording.
Counterpoint - while ostensibly sensible, could this have a chilling effect on documenting misconduct? Say an airline has another Dr. Dao situation, and decides to use this language from their contract of carriage to ban people who post photos/videos of said misconduct?
Yes. Airlines want to avoid liability and the PR nightmare that United faced after UA3411.
Would that I were an official member, I would heart this. Reckon this is the primary reason behind this language.
If you enjoyed this Dr. Dao-related content, Gary at VFTW recently post about a cell-phone-incident in Miami. Not the same as Dr. Dao, because United was at-fault there; but, it's interesting to see the 'legacy' of Dr. Dao in today's incidents (remove everyone to avoid the PR disaster of bloodying up passengers who do not comply.)
British police aren't going to beat the crap out of a passenger. That only realistically could happen in the US, so while your point is valid, it's unlikely to be an issue on BA.
I'll check that out @1990.
Jerry - I concur. My concern is if the threat of a ban might have a chilling effect on passengers documenting misconduct, not that officers of the Met might start cracking skulls.
I flew 5 flights on KLM and Aer Lingus last week and there was an announcement on every flight that photography was not permitted unless everyone in the photograph consented.
Love this! Hope every other airline out there follows along and, more importantly, enforces it.
You love having no proof? Like when they dragged out David Dao on United Airlines?
Wow, a new form of fascism.
KLM is another airline that explicitly mentions their own rule prohibiting photo/video of crew without authorization. Shouldn’t be filming anyone without consent, really. Seems sensible, within reason…
I agree in a private setting such as an airplane which is a bsuiness. Public setting? Asking everyone for consent? Hell no.
‘Within reason’ … airplanes and airports are quasi-public settings. It’s nuanced.
I would not equate airports with aircraft cabins here, especially in the BA context.
An airport terminal may be quasi-public, but an aircraft cabin is a restricted, airline-controlled environment, and BA’s own conditions now specifically prohibit filming crew or other passengers without consent.
Without enforcement, these laws, rules, norms are meaningless. I suspect people will continue to take photos or film, especially when there are incidents on-board, regardless. Sure, fine, airlines can attempt to sue/ban them afterwards, and maybe they'll deter, but it's unlikely. This announcement is mostly performative.
I feel like this is an issue that almost every airline could do more. It's 100% possible to create content and be respectful of both crew and other passengers, but I feel like most influencers take the "I paid to be here so I can do what I want" mentality.
"...most influencers take the "I paid to be here so I can do what I want" mentality."
Exhibit A: Sam Chui.
I do believe that you have the wrong end of the stick, Willy.