Arab princesses kicked off British Airways plane to jeers and whistles after refusing to sit next to

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Daily Mail

Three Arab princesses were thrown off a packed British Airways flight after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn't know.

The dispute - in which the three princesses from the ultra-conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating - left the London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three hours.

Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane.

The princesses, wearing traditional Arab dress, were returning from a day's shopping in Milan. They arrived at the city's Linate airport and boarded Heathrow-bound flight BA 563, which was due to take off at 4pm on Thursday.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=471352&in_page_id=1811

---

I agree with BA on this one. As another poster said, it's 2007!

[Donnachaidh]

1. DEMANDED segregated seating?

Perhaps these little monsters should have had their Daddies hire a private jet?

[JerseygirlCT]

17. With their money, I'm surprised they didn't just charter their

own jet. Or at the least, buy enough seats to ensure their segregation.

Expecting other passengers to move to suit their own needs is a bit much.

And I'm willing to bet you dollars to donoughts that they walked around Milan in the latest fashions, without too much worry about how much was covered. I can remember watching all the women, dressed to the nines, hurriedly covering up as the plane neared Riyadh...

[regnaD kciN]

21. Actually, it wasn't so much the women who were complaining...

...it was the sheik who was the leader of their party.

From what I can tell, the sheik and his entourage didn't bother to request "special needs" seat assignments beforehand (when they probably could have been accommodated) and found, when they got on board, that their party was broken up into seats where "their women" had to sit next to "strange men." They apparently asked/demanded that other passengers be moved about to accommodate their religious customs. When said passengers refused, BA offered alternate seating for the women where they wouldn't have had contact with non-related males...but in economy class. After a consultation with the Qatari embassy, the group grudgingly accepted their original seat assignments, but then, while the airplane was taxiing, the sheik and one of the other males in the group changed their minds, got up and pounded on the cockpit door, demanding to talk to the captain about this.

A quick question: say that this was an American airline. A group of clearly-Arab passengers get onboard, and immediately get in a dispute with the cabin crew. The crew calms them down, the aircraft starts on its way, and then, suddenly, two of the men in the group get up and storm the cockpit. What do you think would happen? :eyes:

[JerseygirlCT]

65. Unacceptable behavior, IMO

Endangering and inconveniencing the entire plane for their particular purposes, especially after they neglected to take care of things beforehand.

I think they maybe forgot that their royalty means bupkus outside of Qatar.

[dogfacedboy]

78. I'd imagine a six-pack of whoop-ass would have been opened. n/t

[bahrbearian]

2. Next time they can have chimpy send over Air Force one...

any thing for a friend.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. What I don't understand is why the party didn't have seats

all together. Surely it would have been ok to sit by servants, or to seat the three ladies together--I am assuming that there are no more than three seats in a row on airlines (haven't flown since 2000, and don't plan to ever again).

[peacetalksforall]

5. There is no three across seating in First Class. It's one or two

depending on the aircraft. Applies to major airlines - can't vouch for smaller airlines. Doubt they paid for Business or Coach/Economy if they are Princesses.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

9. You can tell where I sat when I was aboard planes

But if there were two together and one single, where was the problem? And if it were two together and two together, why didn't the male relative sit with one of the princesses? Even in right wing Islam it is permitted for a woman to sit with a man from her own family! Bottom line is, they had enough people to get the tickets in a block so the women wouldn't have had to sit next to a stranger. But apparently someone got careless and didn't buy them as a block, and then when they got on the plane, they expected to be accommodated anyway.

[peacetalksforall]

16. Not all might have singles - the 747 usually has two singles - lower level.

They all configure the upper deck differently. Perhaps they booked late, perhaps no one would agree to being moved? Maybe no other females in that cabin? As usual we don't have enough to go on, but it sure is entertaining. I wonder how the story is going over in Europe?

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Business class may have been two across, not three

but yes, there seems to be a lack of detail here in just why the women couldn't have been accommodated by sitting together.

[LeftyMom]

8. That's what I don't understand.

I don't like sitting by random strangers either, but that goes along with mass transportation whether it's the city bus or an international flight and is often unavoidable.

Certainly they could afford either to buy a block of seats or to make arrangements for private transportation if no flight with available seating together was available.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

4. Good.

It's 2007, for God's sake. :eyes:

[HereSince1628]

7. This is why rich royals are forced into owning their own planes.

It's just terrible how no one understands how difficult their lives are. :silly:

[LisaL]

10. Yes, the horror of it all.

[napi21]

11. I don't know what EIGHT passengers thought they were all going

to sit together!

The women, all relatives of the oil-rich emir of Qatar, Bader Bin Khalifa Al Thani, were booked into business class in a party of eight which included the emir and an entourage of cooks, servants and other staff.

After passengers had fastened their seat-belts and the plane had taxied on to the runway, two male passengers in the entourage got up to protest about where the women were sitting.


I don't know what kind of plane this was, but it is usual that seating is 3 or 4 across at most. The only aircraft that has more than that is the 747, and I doubt that's waht this flight was.

I don't want to hammer on anyone's religious beliefs, but if they are willing to fly, they really have to accept the traditional accomodations!

I would have been really pi**ed is they would have delayed MY FLIGHT because of their insane request!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

18. Those males could have paid a stranger to change places with them,

couldn't they? Most businessmen would think it worth their while for, say 100 euros or even less, to be accommodating. I think it was the demands that ticked everyone off--and having to wait three hours on the tarmac to get things straightened out.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. I thought all those Arab Royals had their own effing jets...

:shrug:

[JCMach1]

43. obviouslly low level types...

i.e. poor cousins...

Which makes their tantrum all the more insane...\\

If you are ANYONE in the Gulf, your handlers would have booked the proper seats for you...

I will point out that this has more to do with the guy being a major dick than it does about religion...

Asshats come in all nationalities... Honestly, they should have arrested the guy.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

45. The guys who arranged the flight should have

made their needs clear when they booked it. I'll bet the airline would have been happy to accomodate them, even if it was a snooty, ignorant request.

[regnaD kciN]

13. You can find a LOT more about this...

...here. (Airlines.net is generally the best source for info about anything regarding aviation.)

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

27. airlines.net is amazing

I discovered it through the "Ask A Pilot" column on Salon. The photos section alone is jaw-dropping.

Interesting discussion there.

[supernova]

55. Thank you for that link

to airlines.net. Fascinating reading about this story.

I have to say, if I had been a passenger on that plane and had arranged my seat of choice, I would not have moved. These people obviously made last minute plans, and paid the consequences for it.

[Zorra]

14. "Princesses"..."royal family"...*snarf*

How utterly regressive.

[rodeodance]

15. just out for a day of shoping. nice life

[DRoseDARs]

19. Is it at ALL possible that just one passenger in 1st could have just ate shit and switched seats?

I've been on plenty of flights in coach where passengers (either willingly or begrudgingly) switched seats WITHOUT causing a scene nor forcing the flight crew to intervene. Because, you know, God FORBID even one rich snob in 1st class be accommodating to another fellow rich snob. And don't give me that tripe about "Oh this is 2007 they should join us in the 21st Century." I'm on a plane, we've been delayed for 3 hours, I don't fucking care that that aspect of their culture is offensive and primitive, would someone PLEASE JUST FUCKING SWITCH SEATS WITH THE PRIMA-DONNA BITCH SO WE CAN FINALLY FUCKING GO ALREADY?!?!? :eyes:

Edit: Per the link provided in post #13, it wasn't the princess making demands, it was the sheik they were traveling with but my point still stands: Would someone PLEASE just fucking switch seats with her, or him for that matter?

[regnaD kciN]

24. Apparently, the people they wanted to move were in groups as well...

...and didn't want to be broken up. They had arrived first and/or bothered to pre-book seat assignments -- why should they have been required to sacrifice for the sake of people who hadn't done so?

Personally, I try to have either a window or aisle seat. If I had requested one of those, and was instead told that I needed to move to a center seat because of this...well, I'd be reluctant as well.

However, it would all depend on how the request was made. If the sheik had come to me and explained that there was a problem that affected their religious practices and asked me if I could please change seats to help them out, I would probably do so. If, OTOH, their attitude had been "We are Qatari royalty, and we need your seat. Move, commoner!" -- I would have refused just on the principle of the thing.

[DRoseDARs]

25. Thank you for responding rationally to my post. I agree, the way they make the request is important

If it had been me and the sheik had been somewhat polite, I might've been ok with switching. It's a long enough flight that I probably would have slept anyway. But him being an absolute self-privileged jerk won't give me warm fuzzy feelings. I don't know if the princesses took part in the verbal requests, but perhaps they could have politely coaxed some female passengers to help them out. Who knows, and ultimately who cares? 3 hours of this? We could have already been preparing to land in London by now. :thumbsdown:

[pitohui]

26. i do not change my seat just because of someone else's poor planning

it takes a lot of time and planning for me to get a business class or first class seat and when i do i make a point of selecting where i want to sit IN ADVANCE, i go online and get a seatmap, or i phone the airline and i make advance arrangements for my preferred seating

i do not "swap" with someone else, much less some bitchy sheik concerned about the purity of his sweet princess, just because they make a demand

i only "swap" if the seat is an equivalent or better

this shiek, the princesses, and the entourage clearly have crazy $$$$, they should have planned in advanced or if they were too pure to make a phone call in advance, hire someone to do it, so they could be seated together

i WORK to get my seat, i can't get it on spend alone because i'm on a budget, i have to get my upgrade thru loyalty, miles, planning

real hard for me to care about someone who could have simply forked out more money in advance to guarantee their seats or even chartered their own private jet

[Solo_in_MD]

37. I will move if I consider the request to be a reasonable one...

but anything that is based on islam or the sharia is by definition unreasonable.

[DavidMS]

46. I agree with you

but on a flight back from London, I was next to a old woman who was wearing a Burka. I ended up changing seats and sat next to a man who was working with an NGO and had on this trip slipped across the Chinese-North Korean Border and done some study and photography. It was very cool listening to him.

If I hadn't been so tired and just wanting to get home I might have refused to move, but overall it was an upgrade. The amazing thing about international flying is the people one sits next to. On the way to London, I sat next to a man who was involved in an anti-coruption NGO who formerly worked for the FDIC and dealt with bank failures in the 80s (He helped make sure that people like the Keating 5 paid for their crimes).

As much as I hate flying it does have its benefits.

[martymar64]

49. But a request based on Xtianity would be reasonable?

Sounds like bigotry to me.

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[parkia00]

54. Need more clarification here...

What about extreme right wing Jews? I'm not really up to par with my knowledge on the various Jewish groups but I think I heard that there is sect that also prohibits public mingling between males and females when they do not know each other and they even have buses where men sit in front and women sit in the rear?

I agree on the Sharia part. I believe that in any county there should be only one law. Common law that every person follows no matter what religious group they belong to. However when you simply inject Islam as a whole like you did in your posting above and that Islam needs to be "fought and ridiculed whenever possible" showing no difference in attitude to moderate Muslims and the extreme nutcases, it makes you look less then progressive yourself. I'm sure when you commented that "Tolerating Islam is like tolerating the KKK" you meant radical Islam and not all people of the Islamic faith as a whole? After all when someone says something like that about any religion and mean it, that person would also be a fan of Rush and Coulter and feel at home at Free Republic and not here! For which I'm sure you are not.

[Scurrilous]

72. "..they even have buses where men sit in front and women sit in the rear?"

Israel's 'modesty buses' draw fire

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6584661.stm

[David__77]

60. Christianity and Islam have very similar Mosaic roots.

The religious law is fascist in any case. There are fundamentalists of both religions; albeit, there are many more fundamentalist Muslims. The problem is not the reformist religious adherents.

[Ian David]

53. But anything that is based on giving me $1,000 to switch seats makes it reasonable again. n/t

[Yupster]

70. This does seem to have been the best solution

A simple capitalist auction. I'd say by $ 1,000 or so we would have had a winner.

[treestar]

67. A lot of people are easier going though

Where were those people on that plane?

Was there a bit of "let's stand up to the Muslims" going on?

The wait could have been eliminated with a couple of people just willing to move. Who cares who you sit next to on a plane?

[LisaL]

76. Why should people who paid for their seats move just so

some princess doesn't sit next to a man?

[leftynyc]

83. Obviously the princesses and their shiek cared

Otherwise they wouldn't have caused the problem. I would have cheered them getting kicked off also. What nerve.

[Nay]

47. You should read the whole thing on airlines.net. Very interesting.

It clarifies why the plane was 3 hours late -- it didn't take that long to get the Qataris off. They were put off immediately after they started banging on the cockpit door after the plane began to taxi. The plane then had to repark, get the Q's luggage off, and WAIT for another "slot" to take off. They did not negotiate for 3 hours!

I, for one, would not have given my seat up for any reason. As a basic principle, I don't appease assholes/sexists/racists or any other kind of jerk, because it only encourages them in their fantasies of total power over others. And we've seen where that's got us lately.

[Le Taz Hot]

48. And what if they were

objecting because their flight neighbors were Black? Or Jewish? Would your answer be the same?

[Darth_Kitten]

81. Accomodate an adult having a temper tantrum? NO WAY!!!!

Something causing a disturbance like this ought to have been arrested.

[Psephos]

20. There's a bit more to this story

A Qatari emir was traveling with female members of his royal family and an entourage. It was he who forbade them to sit adjacent to male passengers, and it was he who demanded of the flight crew that the females be accommodated as he saw fit.

Those on the thread lambasting the princesses directly can instead blame the paternalist custom that prevails in much of the Middle East, personified in the emir.

IMO BA handled this correctly. The emir should remember the adage, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

[LadyAziz]

28. That dude is not the Emir but a relative

the Emir is Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani who seems very progressive because a few yrs back he allowed his second wife Sheikha Mozah to be photography, which goes a/g Gulfie traditions. Even his daughters are photographed. Sheikha Mozah is very active in women issues and she is a wonderful person.

That dude should have booked a private plane, you can't come to Western country shop and do whatever and then throw a fit when you do not like the situation. I think the 3 women accompany him maybe his wives.

The Qatari family has a lot of issues the current "crown prince" was banned from a wait for it............... a Gay bar in London. What is a Shk. doing in a gay bar to begin with? Because if he was a regular Qatari he would be jailed and probably injected with male hormone stuff to "ungay him". But it was swept under the rug and back to business as usual.

And for the record Sheikhs and Sheikhas are not Royal but Ruling families.

[Psephos]

31. Very informative post

Thanx

BTW, here is where I was sourcing from:

http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3531309/

[LadyAziz]

33. Thanks for your reply

am not sure if it was 2 or 3 women (cause I read about it in forum for Arab Ruling families) but that dude is spoiled. Like many Sheikhs they can get whatever they want cash, cars, women etc... Sheikhas are just there to have kids and keep the home thanks to all the nannies they have. They really live a posh lifestyle. Off topic there are a lot of cute Sheikhs but man their citizens worship them like gods, I mean songs, pictures, even their cars have their fav sheikhs pics plastered all over. It's very strange.

[supernova]

59. I'm flummoxed

"their citizens worship them like gods, I mean songs, pictures, even their cars have their fav sheikhs pics plastered all over. It's very strange."

I don't want to be rude, but that is odd.

I like my mayor and my county commissioners, local officials. Mostly they are active, concerned, courteous people but I don't worship them. :wow:

Welcome to DU, LadyAziz! :hi:

[mitchum]

29. I'll blame the emir for the paternalism, and the princesses for parasitism

[dollie300]

32. He should have taken hisown private jet. he has one. n/t

[Darth_Kitten]

82. Well, the princesses can certainly partake on shopping in the West......

I'd love to have the privilege of shopping in Milan.

[Mz Pip]

22. Well, gee

at least they didn't get their way.

But this does beg the question as to what kind of appropriate fashions they were bringing back from Milan.

If they hate the 21st century so much maybe they could have hired a row boat to get them across the Mediterranean.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[cigsandcoffee]

23. Hey Emir et al - private planes can institute Sharia law.

British Airways can't. Don't be a cheapskate.

[TahitiNut]

30. From "Princess and the Pea" to "Princesses Get Pissed"??

Fuck 'em. :shrug: "Royalty" :puke:

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

34. The funny thing is...

I saw a rapper entourage flying between LAX and JFK behaving more or less the same way, unfortunately rather than throwing bling bling off the plane they bumped people to coach to accomodate the asshole who was crying racism.

[Solo_in_MD]

38. I've told similar assholes to shut up and go away

and laughed when they whined about being dissed.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

44. unfortunately the airline didn't

As I understood the situation, Bling Bling was booked in first class and some of his thugs were too, the rest of the thugs felt entitled to free upgrades claiming that they flew enough to be entitled. Well I guess joining the frequent flyer program just isn't gangsta - so no they were not and that is on the assumption they weren't lying.

All the while Bling Bling (I don't have a fucking clue who he was and I didn't care - I hate rap) was claiming the airline was racist for not giving the rest of his posse free seats in first class. Pardon me, the airline was racist for not kicking people out of their seats so his thugs could have them. Unfortunately the girl at the gate and the flight attendant in first class seemed completely star-struck and let the asshole and his thugs have their way.

They were also rowdy for almost the entire flight and one drunk member of their posse was propositioning every woman who walked past him to use the bathroom, real classy. "You want some company in there shorty?"

A number of people in the front actually moved to the back of the plane on their own, which was also apprently racist.

[Solo_in_MD]

51. Is there a write up on that anywhere? I'd like to avoid that airline if I can

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

75. That won't be a problem, it was TWA.

I have told other people about it over the years, but they just said I described every rapper living or dead.

[ecstatic]

73. How do you know they were thugs and "gangstas"

Sure, they may have been obnoxious but your post sounds racist.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

74. they looked like thugs, they were behaving like thugs and calling each other the n-word.

They looked like they just walked out of an rap video on MTV.

Had it been Guns and Roses or Motley Crue I don't think my reaction would have been that different. An obnoxious group of people who thought they were really fucking important was disturbing the whole plane with unreasonable demands. I repeat the rapper was DEMANDING that people be moved so his entourage could have free seats in first class.

[-..__...]

79. That's when the shit-stain should have been told...

"take you and your entourage to the rear of the plane and STFU and sit down"...

or...

"Get your worthless thug asses the fuck off my airplane or STFU and sit down".

Obviously I the lack tact/decorum to work for the airline industry.

:smoke:

[ninkasi]

35. What a nightmare for the other passengers

I've only flown on a commercial airplane once, when I flew to stay with one of my brothers, whose wife had died. I was in economy class, there were 3 seats, and I had the aisle seat, the center one was empty, and the window seat was occupied by a very nice woman who was the perfect person to be seated next to.

I would have been very, very upset by a 3 hour delay because of something like this. I don't anticipate having to fly commercially again, I hope...who knows, though?

[DFW]

36. Considering the way some of these guys consider women to be their property

He should have packaged them up as checked baggage,
and his problem would have been solved.

[Elspeth]

80. It was because the male considered the princesses his property that this all happened to begin with

Reading the whole thread, I think the male in question should have walked home.

[sleipnir]

39. Self-rightous asshat.

Welcome to the 21st century, get off the brainwashing.

[funflower]

40. They want the benefits of modern science while enforcing 7th

century social rules.

[LeftishBrit]

41. If they wanted special arrangements, they should have brought them up when booking

The Daily Mail is totally unreliable, but the story is supported by the BBC news website so is probably correct.

How infuriating for the other passengers.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

42. The Daily Mail isn't at all a reliable source

Especially when it comes to reporting news concerning non-English and non-white people.

[Solo_in_MD]

52. believe it has been reported elsewhere as well

check the airline passenger board link in an early post in this thread. It was an interesting read

[ohio2007]

56. Well..if they sat next to non related males....they would face execution on returning home

So, being filthey ass rich yet a female is no excuse to be above the law.....

[supernova]

57. In QATAR?

I thought Qatar was one of the more moderate countries? Was I wrong about that?

And yes, I think this guy was a total jackass. We don't hear from them, but I really wonder what his female relatives thought of his behavior.

[ohio2007]

61. Qatar is a Persian Gulf state. They do have family traditions and "honors' that demand respect

If a woman leaves the middle east,her family values follow her as we all know.

[supernova]

62. Are you assuming that

or is that actually the law in Qatar when a woman travels outside the country?

Yes, I'm acquainted with these customs, having taught college-level ESL to among other students from all over, ME students, Male and Female.

I still maintain that the guy made an unnecessary jackass of himself, and his female companions would not have suffered upon returning home.

[Sukie1941]

63. Here in Oregon we have "family traditions and "honors"

that demand respect.

Shoot the bastard! Whichever is NOT making my day.

[ohio2007]

64. I assume you are a male and never ventured off your mountain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing

I'm not saying they would have been killed but who are we in the west to say they wouldn't have been punished as a routine family practice?

What if they ignored their 'menfolk', sat with strangers?

I will assume it safe to say that shopping spree would have been their last junket out of Gulf for the rest of thier lives. a fate worse then death imo all things considered

You,Sukie1941,
would have made a fine Saudi prince ;)

[Taverner]

58. I agree with BA 100%

Unless they're willing to buy out the seat next to them, their rights end where their seat does.

[treestar]

66. Several weird things here

- why don't they have their own private jet?
- why wasn't it possible to seat the princesses with other women? Even from their own family group, and with men they are related to
- why not just get off the plane - they're too rich for the inconvenience not to be easily surpassed
- weren't there any women in economy class willing to take a free upgrade to first class in order to make life easier for the princesses? LOL, if I were traveling econ you can bet I'd take it. Even if not traveling alone - me and my sister would fight for it!

[Pharlo]

84. Based upon the story at airlines.net,

There was an available block of seats in the economy class section - and, it was offered to the Qatari, but it was refused by the sheik.

[Keefer]

68. What I want to know is...

... How did they GET there? Did they fly, swim, or walk? No seating problems then?

[CreekDog]

69. If the princesses sat next to a strange man

Their HUSBAND might have gotten jealous. He doesn't want to share his wives with some other dude.

And frankly anybody who pounds on the cockpit door while the plane is taxiing over a freaking seat assignment is automatically wrong and automatically an idiot. No credibility left and he had to have been wrong from the beginning. I'm glad they kicked them off the plane, in the USA, there would have been charges filed too.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

71. I bet you they weren't flying economy class

[gulliver]

77. The number of Arab princes is in the thousands.

So the number of Arab princesses must be in the tens of thousands. How do they even rate first class? An Arab princess should take the bus.