British Airways Burned by Bin Laden BA Boarding Pass

by copythis

British Airways is drawing attention with more than its labor dispute strikes-rumors abound that a boarding pass photo which appears to expedite the air travel of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, is work of a disgruntled employee.
 
The root could be BA labor disputes and strikes that have cost BA many millions.
 
The Osama bin Laden boarding pass photo appears in British Airways' LHR News, the airline's internal staff magazine which covers the world's busiest airport of Londons Heathrow. The bin Laden boarding pass photo appeared alongside an article which spells out benefits of the BA mobile-boarding setup; the mobile boarding pass system permits users of mobile digital devices to print out boarding passes on the go.
 
In the photo, the BA boarding pass reads "Bin Laden/Osama" and appears in the graphic panel of a user's iPhone. To add to the "humor", the bin Laden boarding pass pic even includes an Executive Club frequent-flier number for passenger bin Laden--showing the world's most wanted man flying as a British Airways First Class passenger on Oct. 26, 2010.
 
So how did current British Airways debacle occur? BA isn't quite sure and, if anyone does know, mum's the word. A British Airways spokeswoman told ABC News that "a mistake has been made in this internal [LHR staff] publication and we [BA] are working to find out how this [spoof] occurred." The prank appears to be more heated than just simple tasteless humor, with current speculation that the photo is handiwork of a disgruntled British Airways employee.
 
British Airways is currently locked in a labor dispute with the union which represents the airline's cabin-crew workers. The BA labor dispute strike has grounded flights, drawing the ire of passengers, stranding thousands of travelers during one of the busiest and peak travel times of the year. British Airways employees or crew members have received word from BA that the airline is proposing a cut in base salaries for new flight attendants. In the meantime, the airline estimates that it has lost more than $150 million in revenue during that labor dispute.