Airline Gives Osama Bin Laden a Boarding Pass

[The Straight Story]

Airline Gives Osama Bin Laden a Boarding Pass
British Airways Features Terrorist Al Qaeda Leader's Name in Heathrow Airport Magazine


The name of international terrorist and fugitive Al Qaeda boss Osama Bin Laden has surfaced in an unlikely spot, and apparently he's flying British Airways first class to Washington.


It seems that somebody in London with a bad sense of humor is causing the U.K. airline a bit of a headache after inserting a graphic of a boarding pass bearing bin Laden's name into a company-run magazine.

A cover story in LHR News -- a British Airways staff magazine covering London's Heathrow Airport -- about a new service allowing passengers to download paperless boarding passes to their iPhones includes close-up cover photo a white boarding pass emblazoned with the name "Bin Laden/Osama."


Apparently bin Laden likes to fly -- or at least knows the value of loyalty -- because the boarding pass features a frequent flier number. And don't worry about his leg room. The world's most-wanted man is apparently flying pretty up in first class, seat 7C.



http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/british-airways-terrorist-osama-bin-laden-boarding-pass/story?id=10795859

[davidinalameda]

1. someone's head is going to roll

this is not funny in the least

[RC]

2. Actually it is quite funny.

With the Key Stone Kops we have in this country, he'd have no problem flying.

[HipChick]

3. It's pretty possible there is more than 1 person in the world that has the name Osama Bin Laden

but the rest of the data doesn't match who they are looking for.

[edbermac]

4. Another story implies a disgruntled employee.

Which I can believe, BA can't be THAT stupid.

So how did this happen? The short answer is that no one knows — or at least, no one's telling if they do. A British Airways spokeswoman told ABC News reporter Scott Mayerowitz that "a mistake has been made in this internal publication and we are working to find out how this occurred." And in response to a follow-up call from Yahoo! News, another spokeswoman for the airline remained firmly on message, saying, "We're still working to find out how this occurred at this time."

The gaffe could be the result of a tasteless prank that got out of hand — but current speculation is running toward the theory that it's the handiwork of a disgruntled employee. British Airways is currently locked in a labor dispute with the union representing its cabin-crew workers, and the strike has grounded flights for thousands of travelers in one of the busiest travel times of the year. At issue in the labor fight is a proposed cut in the base salaries for new flight attendants. The company estimates that it has lost more than $150 million in revenue during the dispute.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts2359