Man says JetBlue made him sit on toilet
By
Samuel Maull
Associated Press Writer
/
May 13, 2008
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 Manhattan's Inwood section, 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 1/2 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 comment on the lawsuit Monday.
Source:
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2008/05/13/man_says_jetblue_made_him_sit_on_toilet/
Last edited: 13-May-08 11:45 AM
