San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

Well, if the turbulence scared the $hit out of him, at least he was in the right place - begging for that to be said.

I can't believe this story. Crazy.

Is this a joke? If it's true then this is just over the top. I hope Jet Blue pays dearly for treating a customer in such a horrible way.

The pilot was totally out of line. The guy was flying on a free "buddy pass" given to him by a Jet Blue employee friend, but STILL....the crew is responsible for passenger safety.

What I havent seen in the news is how LONG Bathroom Boy was asked to stay in the bathroom. I mean, was it for two minutes or two hours?

Enquiring minds would like to know!

OK FLU, you are getting ahead of yourself. First I must say my husband is an employee of said airline...now, here is the other side. This passenger BEGGED to get on this flight...the pilot did nothing but ask a flight attendant to ride in the jump seat...not very comfortable, but the FA agreed to let this passenger have her seat. After a couple hours, the FA got up, she was uncomfortable...passenger OFFERED his seat to her for a time (pilot had nothing to do with it), he said he would like to walk around anyway (my bet is that she was good-looking, he was hoping for a date). She proceeded to fall asleep, the passenger either didn't want to ask her to get up, or saw dollar signs (more likely). So he sat in the bathroom a while...his choice. He could have awakened her...

Now, regarding your "cracker" comment, what are you trying to imply? Only "white foke" fly? Why something as incendiary as that? I don't know, but Gohkan Mutlu does not sound very "cracker like"...best to keep those types of comments to yourself!

MANmom

Yeah, we've all read past stories about the great treatment that customer's have received from Jet Blue.

MANmom: Just because your husband works for JB doesn't mean that he KNOWS exactly what happened on that plane. Was he there? There are witnesses that have been questioned by now and based on eyewitness account, not rumor and innuendo, the man who claims that he was made to sit in the bathroom will either receive an out of court settlement from Jet Blue to keep him from pushing this further or it will go to trial........or he will drop the lawsuit.

I used to fly (A LOT) and since deregulation of the airlines, service and courtesy from the airline crews has gone right down the toilet, :)
Flight attendants are among the worst offenders of poor treatment and rude behavior towards passengers. I've seen it first-hand, too many times to count.

I thought the cracker comment was funny and not offensive in any way. We're all adults here. FLU was clearly joking. Please nobody start worrying about whether others will be offended by certain words, no matter what you do or say in life someone somewhere will be offended so don't even try. I like the loose nature of this blog. In the non-cyber world I've been called a crazy cracker, a pinche yankee, and a stupid, white motherfucker on numerous occasions (usually at the poker table). Getting offended is a choice.

I travel a lot and am absolutely disgusted by the treatment I get from some airline employees; however, they are a small percentage (maybe 2%) compared to the great treatment I've gotten from airline employees... Unfortunately the super-offensive 2% are the ones we all remember, and not the wonderful 98%.

Are flight attendants even allowed to sleep on such a relatively short trip? I mean, I can see napping if you're doing the nonstop Frankfurt to San Francisco flight...but, come on. Looks like this whole situation needs to be looked at by the National Transportation Safety Board, or whichever org is in charge.

MANmom,

First off. I wasn't implying anything about someone's race when i said "cracker". It was someone people use to say about anyone that's kinda the fussy/ class clown type of people (inclusive). Last time I checked, crackers come in all colors and sizes, and most of them are actually yellow. So, if you interpreted this as this meaning "white", I'm sorry you have that interpretation. And it's also why I don't get all huffy-puffy when someone accidentally calls a person "oriental" if they didn't mean for it to be derogatory. Personally, I think people are just a wee bit sensitive reading way to much into words, and most of the time people mean no offense at all.

The reason why i thought about "class clown", is because personally an see myself getting into this situation above, and that no one believing me afterwards. I'm still waiting to here both side of this story. Part of me wants to believe couldn't possibly happen. But, if you've flown recently on any airline, you'll notice that customer service has taken a dump across the board.

The only thing I'm not surprised about is this didn't happen on Southwest. Well, I guess at least this guy didn't get booted off the flight for wearing a skimpy outfit. 

selfportrait

----- Sour grapes for everyone!

You've gotta admit flying Southwest is like riding the bus... The short bus! Every time I take a Southwest flight I'm blown away by the people around me. It's no wonder the employees act the way they do: they are numb from their experiences. People just get STUPID when they fly.

CMcG, this flight attendant was catching a flight home, she was a commuter, not on duty at the time. She cannot be charged with anything...she was essentially a passenger. As for having to put up with grumpy flight attendants, you can't imagine what the flight crews have to put up with. Customers have become so un-civilized. I have personally witnessed more awful behavior from passengers, and the flight crews just have to smile and take it. What happens after the passengers get off the plane would turn your stomach...my husband and his crew have to clean the plane. You cannot imagine what they find left behind by some pigs...from dirty diapers to puke in magazines...I could go on, but you probably don't want to hear it. Suffice it to say you don't want to know.

FLU, I was not offended by the "cracker" comment, maybe though you should find another word, that one does not mean what you think it means...it has always been a derogatory term for whites...

And by the way, rich people don't fly discount airlines, they fly the majors with their first class fares. The hoi paloi fly the other less expensive flights...this guy didn't even pay for his flight, he was on a "buddy pass", which is a perk given to employees.

As to the other comments, my husband knows of the incident, but no, he has not talked to anyone on the plane, I just hope the real story comes out, this one is just too preposterous to be believed, but most people hear the story and fail to even want to believe anything else.

MANmom

I found it a little hard to believe and thought there might be more to it.

MANmom,

I'm sorry. I hadn't even considered that the FA might be off duty. She had as much right to that seat as he did. And I do realize how hard it is to work for the airlines these days. Not only have FAs told me, but I was addicted to that reality show a few years back about Southwest Airlines. Anybody remember that? I especially remember the incident where a passenger, without any carry-ons, smelled so bad that others waiting in the waiting area to board complained. An airline rep had to send him to an airport restroom with soap, a toothbrush, a towel, and a clean Southwest uniform of some sort. The airlines shouldn't have to play mommy.

I don't like flying Southwest, as other posters have opined. But as long as the flight isn't too long, I just put up and shut up. There is no quicker, cheaper, nonstop way to get from San Diego to Oakland than on SW. We are taking that trip on Friday for a college graduation. We paid only $200 total for two roundtrip tickets.

And now SW has the "business elite" program or whatever it's called. Pay a little more and get priority boarding, extra points, and a free drink.

SW wouldnt be so bad - if it wasnt for the other passengers. Sigh.

BTW, I thought a "cracker" was a redneck. At least that's what it means down south.

Is it possible that the FA asked for the guy's seat AFTER takeoff and there was literally no place else to put the guy? I still think it's all reckless and crazy...

This guy who is sueing is a piece of shit. The story has been sensationalized because it sells newspapers.

The way I see it he would ahe been left at the airport and had to wait hours or maybe another day before flying.

Instead a airline employee who was entitled to the seat stepped forward to go above and beyond for this person to help cast a better reputation for the airline and the industry.

If it wer me and I had the option of waiting for another flight or getting on the current one and sitting in the aisle then I am oppting for the aisle, toilet etc

I wonder if the guy who gave him the buddy pass is going to quit. I would ride his ass about his loser fried.

Funny about how stories are circulated. People talk about the woman ho sued McDonalds and made her the demon for unscrupulous lawsuits. Here was an example where the company was in the wrong. Stella Stubeck suffered third degree burns and waw permenantely disabled. McDonalds had over 100 cases of complains and elected o do nothing. Additionally they could have settled very ealy but had lost a case to Stella's lawyer. Punitive damage was less than one half of 1 day of coffee sales and this was later appealed and substantially reduced.

Agree, stop using 'cracker', not so inflammatory, but too many opportunities for mis-understanding.

As for 'oriental' since not everybody lives in Middle Earth and they're not all white or black demons, we probably shouldn't get upset over this adjective.