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Man Claims Jet Blue Made Him Sit in Airplane Lavatory for Hours ($2 Million Lawsuit Included)
By
Jen Chung
Published May 13, 2008
Modified May 13, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 13, 2008
Modified May 13, 2008
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If this is what a Jet Blue "buddy pass" is, we totally pass. An Inwood resident is suing the Queens-based airline or $2 million, claiming a pilot made him sit on the plan's toilet for three hours during a flight from San Diego to New York earlier this year.
Gokhan Multhu was using a buddy pass (per the AP--the "standby travel voucher that JetBlue employees give to friends") and though the flight was full, since a flight attendant had taken the last seat, he was told he could have hers and she would sit in a jump seat. Yet an hour into the flight, Multhu says the pilot told him to give the seat back to the attendant, because she wasn't comfortable.
Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple as swapping seats, because jump seats are only for airplane crew. From the NY Post:
The pilot said no - Mutlu should just "go and 'hang out' in the bathroom," the suit says. In the meantime, the stewardess took Mutlu's seat, "closed her eyes and pretended to sleep."
When Mutlu began to argue, the pilot "became angry at the plaintiff's reluctance to go . . . to take his place in the rest room and took a much harsher tone with the plaintiff, advising him that he was the pilot, that this was his plane, under his command, and that the plaintiff should be grateful for being onboard," the suit says.
Three hours later, Multhu says he was released from his lavatory exile--and that's only because there was turbulence. His lawsuit reads, "Plaintiff walked back to his seat embarrassed, humiliated, mortified, disgraced degraded and still shocked beyond belief." Yesterday, Multu confirmed, "It was not a good experience."
Jet Blue had no comment, saying it does not discuss pending litigation. It's unclear where "buddy pass" falls under the Jet Blue Customer Bill of Rights.
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jet blue
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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