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JetBlue CEO: Steven Slater Is No Hero
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 31, 2010
Modified Aug 31, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 31, 2010
Modified Aug 31, 2010
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Remember Steven Slater? The JetBlue flight attendant made a dramatic exit from an aircraft at JFK earlier this month and, well, you know... beers, emergency chutes, swearing at passengers, media frenzy! Now the airline's CEO is speaking out, and Dave Barger says the former company employee "is not a hero in my book. He added that he's "disheartened to think that so many people would call him a hero."
JetBlue has been pretty tight-lipped on the topic since the incident occurred on August 9th, but Barger told The Street that "safety is the number one value... [deploying the chute was] an egregious act when you think about values"... and numbers! The public meltdown (or more specifically, exiting the plane via the chute) could cost the airline $25K.
As for Slater, he's been suspended by JetBlue as the investigation around the case continues. On the upside, he's got a publicist and a lot of offers, and he met Barry Manilow!
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Dave Barger
jetblue
Steven Slater
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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