The round trip LAX-LHR-CPT is far by anyone's reckoning. BA is a good airline as airlines go. But my most recent experience was not especially gratifying. On such long flights the importance of IFE rises by the mile, and there were a lot of those. Would you believe that all four legs had IFE trouble?

Only on the very last one yesterday did BA staff hand out the form you see above (front & back). The flight from CPT had no IFE whatsoever; "we aplogise for the inconvenience"; yeah, I'd say so. Then the LAX leg had video but with awful white noise – like the CPT flight, frequent system re-boots had no effect. There is no longer flight in the world than when some people have IFE that works (kinda) and you have squat.

Sending in this letter – read it and see what it offers – means what? Nada. There is nothing that comes out of it at all. Nothing on the document indicates a customer is compensated. BA took 100c on the dollar; perhaps some sort of compensation would be appropriate. But look at the mealy mouthed words. There is nothing that indicates I could get anything other than another letter. For goodness sake – this is BA! Once upon a time the "World's favorite airline".

To be fair, IFE breaks down all the time and BA (and others) need to get the technology suppliers butts on the line. BA's brand suffered on every flight I was on. Mutterings were all around – "I'll never fly this airline again, it happens all the time". The poor crew cannot do anything as they are not techies. And the miles keep coming, the broken IFE stares back you mocking your aching butt, throbbing legs and twisting feet. (By the way, who is the idiot who designs a coach seat that only marginally supports a thigh? On a long haul this causes pain. I want a name.)

If ever there was a trip that guaranteed my next tech investment to be a iPOD video or equivalent, this was it. Anything to ensure I don't have to watch "normal" TV sitcoms and movies with four letter words (desperately hoping my 12 year old son is not watching it too between hisses pops and system crashes) and unspeakable violence. One watching of the Sparta movie was enough to satisfy any bloody minded cannibal for a year. In case you ever wonder where passengers get their violent outbursts from, you might find a connection with the IFE content.

Crap poured into a brain tied to a seat and a body that cannot move. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to create a violent outburst. Perhaps BA might consider offering sedatives along with those little cans of soda. At least on US airlines they use full size cans. While writing this is cathartic because it allows for letting off steam, it is also a plea to BA and all airlines. PLEASE fix your IFE!

The round trip LAX-LHR-CPT is far by anyone's reckoning. BA is a good airline as airlines go. But my most recent experience was not especially gratifying. On such long flights the importance of IFE rises by the mile, and there were a lot of those. Would you believe that all four legs had IFE trouble?

Only on the very last one yesterday did BA staff hand out the form you see above (front & back). The flight from CPT had no IFE whatsoever; "we aplogise for the inconvenience"; yeah, I'd say so. Then the LAX leg had video but with awful white noise – like the CPT flight, frequent system re-boots had no effect. There is no longer flight in the world than when some people have IFE that works (kinda) and you have squat.

Sending in this letter – read it and see what it offers – means what? Nada. There is nothing that comes out of it at all. Nothing on the document indicates a customer is compensated. BA took 100c on the dollar; perhaps some sort of compensation would be appropriate. But look at the mealy mouthed words. There is nothing that indicates I could get anything other than another letter. For goodness sake – this is BA! Once upon a time the "World's favorite airline".

To be fair, IFE breaks down all the time and BA (and others) need to get the technology suppliers butts on the line. BA's brand suffered on every flight I was on. Mutterings were all around – "I'll never fly this airline again, it happens all the time". The poor crew cannot do anything as they are not techies. And the miles keep coming, the broken IFE stares back you mocking your aching butt, throbbing legs and twisting feet. (By the way, who is the idiot who designs a coach seat that only marginally supports a thigh? On a long haul this causes pain. I want a name.)

If ever there was a trip that guaranteed my next tech investment to be a iPOD video or equivalent, this was it. Anything to ensure I don't have to watch "normal" TV sitcoms and movies with four letter words (desperately hoping my 12 year old son is not watching it too between hisses pops and system crashes) and unspeakable violence. One watching of the Sparta movie was enough to satisfy any bloody minded cannibal for a year. In case you ever wonder where passengers get their violent outbursts from, you might find a connection with the IFE content.

Crap poured into a brain tied to a seat and a body that cannot move. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to create a violent outburst. Perhaps BA might consider offering sedatives along with those little cans of soda. At least on US airlines they use full size cans. While writing this is cathartic because it allows for letting off steam, it is also a plea to BA and all airlines. PLEASE fix your IFE!