[Rocketfan]

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.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05132008/ne ... 110626.htm

[SumItUp]

What the pilot did was wrong. Something should be done by the airline to compensate the passenger.

But, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Will someone (with deep pockets) embarrass me for 3 hours so that I never have to work another day in my life?

[olldflame]

There are a lot of instances in the past where flight attendants have taken abuse from passengers, and in response both attendants and pilots have been trained to take a more assertive approach regarding their authority on board. It looks to me like this pilot took it way too far.

Jetblue has noone to blame but themselves for boarding more passengers than they had seats. Once they decided to give the seat that originally was assigned to the flight attendant to a passenger, it is ridiculous to think that they can then kick him out because she wasn't "comfortable". The flight attendant is being paid and should have been expected to sit in the jump seat unless she was deathly ill or something. Even if she were, while it may indeed be against regs for a passenger to sit in the jump seat, the alternative the pilot came up with is clearly unacceptable. I hope he enjoyed his little "power trip", because something tells me he is going to pay a very steep price for it.

[adam42381]

I'd go after the airline too. The power trip the pilot was on should cost them dearly.

[LUconn]

Is there a seatbelt on the toilet? What did he do during take off and landing?

[SumItUp]

Is there a seatbelt on the toilet? What did he do during take off and landing?

He disabled the smoke detector and smoked a stogey.

[Sly Fox]

jetBlue's innovative founder & CEO was ousted a year or so ago in part due to uproar over their decision to leave passengers on a runway for 11 hours in one instance. They have battled back to try and rebuild their public image. This didn't help.

If the pilot has not been canned then he has been reprimanded and demoted at the minimum.

As a frequent flier I encounter more out of control flight attendants than pilots. But they all tend to have more than a bit of a power trip especially on coach passengers.

[RagingTireFire]

You guys are putting a lot of faith in the word of a guy who would willingly claim to have spent 3 hours in an airplane bathroom. This smells like frivolity of the litigational kind.

[belcherboy]

What the pilot did was wrong. Something should be done by the airline to compensate the passenger.

But, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Will someone (with deep pockets) embarrass me for 3 hours so that I never have to work another day in my life?

If this is true, that guy won't sniff $2 million. I could see something around $50,000 and free flights for life possibly, but I can't see more than that.

I hope this isn't true. We don't need more expense to the airlines industry. If they did do this, I hope they nail that pilots butt to the wall!

[LUconn]

and free flights for life possibly, but I can't see more than that.

problem is that's free flights for the life of the airline itself. That's not very good compensation since he probably wouldn't get to use it many times.

[RubberMallet]

he was using a buddy pass. he didn't pay for a ticket. he was technically on standby.

the pilot was in the wrong IF WHAT HAPPENED is true. which i really can't believe really happened...

pilots know that sitting passengers int eh bathroom without seatbelts is an faa violation and can get an entire airline shutdown....

[TDDance234]

What did people do if they had to use the restroom? Can they sue for not having the ability to use the bathroom?