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Airline passenger: British Airways had me sit on urine-soaked seat for 11-hour flight

'I could feel it seeping into my jeans,' he told a British newspaper.

Josh Hafner
USA TODAY

A British Airways passenger claims the airline left him with a urine-soaked seat during an 11-hour international flight.

Andrew Wilkinson of London had boarded a flight at Heathrow Airport when he noticed a "wet patch" on his assigned seat "the size of two decks of cards laid side by side," he told British tabloid the Mirror.

Wilkinson soon realized it wasn't water. The 39-year-old alerted a flight attendant who "agreed it was wee" and apologized, as he told the newspaper. She then reportedly returned with seat wipes from the plane's restroom and instructed Wilkinson to clean it up himself.

"I said to the stewardess: 'You are obviously going to move me into business, aren't you? I can't really sit here,'" Wilkinson told the Mirror. 

"She said she would see what she would do, but I wasn't moved."

By the end of his daylong flight to Cape Town, Wilkinson said he "could feel it seeping into his jeans." The blanket he had covered his seat with apparently failed.

Wilkinson paid about $1,500 for the experience, he said.

To make up for his less-than-golden seat, British Airways offered him 5,000 frequent flyer points — enough for a short trip to Paris, one way, the newspaper noted.

British Airways expressed regret over the incident in a statement to Inc.:  "We were very concerned to hear about this and have been in touch with our customer to apologize and make amends."

How to best handle in-flight spats

Air travel rarely brings out the best in anyone, as etiquette expert Peggy Post told USA TODAY, and in-flight conflicts are bound to arise. And once the door seals, the plane can basically become an aluminum prison. There's often little you can do.

"On an airplane you are stuck," Post said. "Complain to management later, but don't threaten with it."

Avoid escalating the problem by staying calm, and prepare to make your best case after the flight lands. Get the airline employee's name — read their tag, don't ask — and ask those around you to take note as witnesses.

After landing, file the complaint in writing, if possible, and make realistic expectations for how the airline might make it right.

Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner

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