flying "toilet-class" with JetBlue airlines

invictus

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004411053_webtoiletflight13.html

NEW YORK — A New York City man is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California.

Gokhan Mutlu of New York says in court papers the pilot told him to "go 'hang out' in the bathroom" about 90 minutes into the San Diego to New York flight because the flight attendant complained that the "jump seat" she was assigned was uncomfortable, the lawsuit said.

Mutlu was traveling on a "buddy pass," a standby travel voucher that JetBlue employees give to friends, from New York to San Diego on Feb. 16, and returned to New York on Feb. 23, the lawsuit said.

Initially, Mutlu was told a flight attendant had taken the last seat on the plane, but then he was advised she would sit in the employee "jump seat," meaning he could have the last seat, the lawsuit said.

The pilot told him 1 ½ hours into the five-hour flight that he would have to relinquish the seat to the flight attendant, court papers say. But the pilot said that Mutlu could not sit in the jump seat because only JetBlue employees were permitted to sit there, the lawsuit said.

When Mutlu expressed reluctance to go sit in the bathroom, the pilot, who was not named in the lawsuit, told him that "he was the pilot, that this was his plane, under his command that (Mutlu) should be grateful for being on board," the lawsuit said.

When the aircraft hit turbulence and passengers were directed to return to their seats, but "the plaintiff had no seat to return to, sitting on a toilet stool with no seat belts," court papers say.

Some time later, a male flight attendant knocked on the restroom door and told Mutlu he could return to his original seat, court papers say.

Mutlu's lawsuit, filed Friday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, says JetBlue negligently endangered him by not providing him with a seat with a safety belt or harness, in violation of federal law.

A JetBlue spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit Monday.

*******

I couldn't help but giggle a little. I doubt I would sue for $2 million though. Does every action have to have a price tag?
 
give me a couple of magazines (Smithsonian and Martha Stewart Living) and a lock to keep my children out and I would have been totally OK with that!!
 
Part of the $2 million is probably what they call "punitive damages." That means they "hit the company where it hurts, in the pocketbook" this discourages them from repeating their mistake and sets an example for other companies.

Headline to this thread is a crack-up :)

Salem
 
Was that the only toilet and did he have to let people in to go to the bathroom? Ewwww....
 
I found it demeaning and dangerous for the pilot and stewardess to make him sit on a toilet for that long without a safety belt when the jump seat was available. The pilot was an *advertiser censored*.
 
I wonder if the friend who gave him the "buddy pass" still has a job today?

It almost sounds to me as if there might have been a problem such as body odor or another offending disturbance.

Of course, if the other passengers can vouch he was actually asked to sit in the bathroom and give up his seat to the flight attendant as he claims...Jet Blue has a $2 million dollar problem and the pilot will have his wings clipped.
 
I wonder if the friend who gave him the "buddy pass" still has a job today?

It almost sounds to me as if there might have been a problem such as body odor or another offending disturbance.

Of course, if the other passengers can vouch he was actually asked to sit in the bathroom and give up his seat to the flight attendant as he claims...Jet Blue has a $2 million dollar problem and the pilot will have his wings clipped.

"wings clipped", that's good.:clap:
 
give me a couple of magazines (Smithsonian and Martha Stewart Living) and a lock to keep my children out and I would have been totally OK with that!!

:clap:

I want to hear more, it seems like there must be more to this story.
 
I'm sorry, but until the airlines are punished for treating people like crap (oops!) they will continue to do so. I hope they lose their *advertiser censored*. (oops again!)

Can you imagine being forced to ride on a toilet? What if they had hit turbulence?
 
This isn't airline policy, not even remotely - I wouldn't punish the airline unless this was some policy, or ignored. If the story is complete - then it's a single bad pilot. But I suspect there's a lot more to this story than is being given.
 
I fly, a good bit... for some reason, I feel for the man, if the claim is true. As for the price tag: turbulence can harm you, big time... thus you are made to put your seat belt on, and even when the seat belt sign is off they always announce that for your own safety they suggest you keep it on. If he was left unharnessed like that, the pilot, for whom is a representative of the airline, put that man's life in danger. THAT IS... if the story is true...
 
As for the 2 million, it is common practice to sue for much more than you hope to receive. It is negotiating room for an out of court settlement at the midnight hour.
 
not buying it for a minute=
I have a lot of questions ~ especially about the flight attendant. Was she working on the flight or just flying? I've never heard of such a thing as a passenger being removed from their seat because the flight attendant was "uncomfortable" in the jump seat ~ which is her assigned seating while on the job. I also can't imagine the pilot sending him to the restroom to "hang out" while the passengers could want to use that restroom, let alone him not having a seat belt in there. It sounds like there's a whole lot more to this story!
 

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