BA offers passengers courses in surviving plane crashes

Executive Club members of BA, bored of the monotony of free flights, are being offered the chance to trade in frequent flyer air miles for courses in how to survive a plane crash.

For the cost of a return trip from London to Rome (£125/$200) members can sign up for the four-hour safety session when it starts next year.

The airline developed programme in response to a request by BP, which sends staff into remote areas of the world where safety standards are, erm, lax.

Studies have shown that many passengers often die in the moments after aircraft accidents with Civil Aviation Authority research showing that a large number of passenger struggled to actually undo their seat belt.

Andy Clubb, the BA manager running the course, told The Independent: 'It makes passengers safer when travelling by giving additional skills and information, it dispels all those internet theories about the "brace position" and it just gives people so much more confidence in flying.'

Feel left out and likely to roll a seven next time you're in an aviation disaster? Just read our survival guide...

Image: Rex