[sbgctsa]

A man who was a passenger on a Jet Blue flight is sueing the carrier for $2m.

The passenger alledges that a flight attendant had asked him for the seat that he was assigned to after she complained that her jump seat was too incomfortable.

She then offered him the oppotunity to go to one of the bathrooms and sit on the toilet. The flight lasted for nine hours.

He was a non-rev flying on a buddy pass. Still, he says that he was supposed to be in a seat with the use of a seat belt, which he wasn't.

The FAA is investigating the incident. The man said the because of that, he was subjected to a smelly environment, which is also unhealthy and is considered a health hazard.

[DiBellaBam]

Wow. That is horrible. I'd have a fit too. Along with an unhealthy enviroment, what about the fact that the pilot subjected this passenger to a seat without a seatbelt?

---

JetBlue: Lawsuit: Pilot made passenger sit on the toilet
By SAMUEL MAULL |Associated Press Writer
7:24 AM CDT, 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 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.

Copyright 2008 Chicago Tribune

[mrllxp]

Here is the original article off the New York Post. They always have the best headlines.

AIRLINE SAT ME ON CAN
$2M SUIT VS. JETBLUE
By DAREH GREGORIAN

May 13, 2008 -- A JetBlue pilot forced a Manhattan man to sit on the toilet for three hours during a cross-country flight to free up his seat for a stewardess, the flush-with-fury passenger charges in a $2 million lawsuit filed yesterday.

Gokhan Mutlu claims the experience made him feel like a first-class loo-ser - and his Manhattan Supreme Court suit says that he suffered "emotional and psychological trauma" and that the JetBlue crew "publicly . . . humiliated and dishonored" him.

"In the middle of the flight, the pilot told me to go to the bathroom and have a seat," Mutlu told The Post from his home in upper Manhattan last night.


GOKHAN MUTLU
"I was humiliated."

"I guess the flight was overbooked, and I didn't want to make a big deal in front of the other passengers, so I just had a seat. "I don't feel good. I was humiliated."

Mutlu says the can-finement happened Feb. 23, when he was a standby passenger for a flight from San Diego to New York.

He was told the flight was full, but a stewardess told him that he could take her assigned seat and that she would sit in the "jump seat," said his lawyer, Zafer Akin.

Mutlu was issued a boarding pass and took Seat 2E, but got a rude awakening as he dozed off about 90 minutes into the red-eye flight, he claims.

The pilot called him to the front and "advised the plaintiff that he would have to give his seat up" to the flight attendant, the suit says.

The pilot told him the "flight attendant wanted to be more comfortable and that the 'jump seat' was not comfortable for her."

A stunned Mutlu asked whether that meant he was supposed to sit in the jump seat for the rest of the five-hour flight, but the pilot told him that would be against regulations, Akin said.

The pilot told him to "hang out" in the bathroom," the suit says, adding the stewardess took Mutlu's seat, "closed her eyes and pretended to sleep.

When Mutlu argued, the pilot advised him that "this was his plane, under his command, and that [he] should be grateful for being onboard," the suit says.

"The plaintiff walked to the back of the plane, trying to hide and cover his face," and "stepped into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it," the suit says.

Soon after, the plane ran into turbulence. While other passengers were ordered to buckle up, Mutlu was "sitting on a toilet stool with no seat belts," the suit claims.

"He was looking for things to hold on to," Akin said.

After landing, the suit says, the pilot asked Mutlu "if everything was OK."

"The pilot said, 'I don't think you appreciate what I did for you.' My client said, 'You locked me in the bathroom,' " Akin said.

"I brought you home," the pilot countered.

Akin said his client would have been happy to wait for a later flight, and probably wouldn't have sued had the crew let him sit in the jump seat.

JetBlue said it doesn't comment on pending litigation.

Copyright 2008 New York Post

[SnareeWer]

I sense BS in more ways than one. (on all sides!)

First, who gave him the seat?

Second, why couldn't he be in the jumpseat? Because it would be Unsafe? If it is against the rules for a passenger to sit in the jumpseat and that was used to keep him from sitting there, the "rules" also say he can't sit on the can for 90 minutes in turbulence or otherwise.

Third. Define "uncomfortable".

Fourth. How did the pilot know the flight attendant and why was he so insistant on getting her a seat?

Is it worth $2M? No. But it is the classic "no one will listen unless...etc.etc.". If they find this is the case, they should fine the pilot for his behavior, and award the passenger with a modest monitary amount and/or some benefits.

We shall see... maybe....if the CT/NYT/USA Today et all. is still interested in XX months after this case is heard!

[seodiary]

I fly this airline like 5 times a month to offices my firm has in Florida as well as to Charlotte for family visits. This story does not seem real at all.

[Fellionas]

I wonder if Gokhan knows the pilot or the flight attendant....

[boanuatiguali]

When Mutlu argued, the pilot advised him that "this was his plane, under his command, and that [he] should be grateful for being onboard," the suit says.

I am not a frequent Jet Blue traveller, but I do travel frequently on other airlines, and can attest that based on my experience this is exactly how the airlines make you feel... like they are doing you a favor allowing you to fly in one of their planes. The industry consistently exhibits the worst service attributes of any other consumer-based industry I can think of.

Was the inconvenience worth $2MM?? Probably not. But If if jury consists of regular air travelers, he'll get this and more. People hate the airlines and with good cause.