Take it from someone who knows: jetBlue is NOT known to hire the classiest people. (Neither, for that matter, is TSA — easily the biggest waste of taxpayer dollars ever passed by the Bush administration — but that’s another story for another day.)
In fact, jetBlue’s questionable hiring practices — and the subsequent ways in which they treat their employees [ever see the movie “Mommie Dearest”? The wire hangers are a welcome reprieve, let’s just say…], has lead them to hit a few headlines in recent years…and NOT in a good way.
But this latest fiasco of the beleaguered airline — whose latest Subway ads can only send current & former employees into peels of uncontrollable laughter — tops all. [This is an airline whose former employees are serving federal time for weapons charges, drug charges, falling asleep in planes…seriously, you NEVER hear of ANY other airline’s employees having this level of DRAMA behind them. Maybe jetBlue would get — and KEEP — a better quality of employee if they paid a living wage, unionized their workers (as EVERY other domestic airline does), ran COMPLETE background & character checks, and treated their employees with a little something called RESPECT. But hey, what do we know…we don’t believe in hiring hoodrats, so maybe we’re missing out on the fun…]
A jetBlue flight attendant flew off the handle on JFK’s tarmac yesterday, inflating the emergency chute after an obscenity-laden tirade to Flight 1052’s 100 passengers.
A defiant passenger lit Steven Slater’s fuse by reaching for overhead luggage on a just-landed flight from Pittsburgh before the plane had stopped.
When Slater moved to stop the passenger, he was hit on the head by the bag and demanded an apology, according to a source. Instead, the passenger told Slater to “f– off.”
Slater then grabbed the intercom, and told the plane: “To the passenger who called me a m—f—er, f— you. I’ve been in the business 28 years. I’ve had it. That’s it.”
In a grand exit, he opened a hatch, released the emergency chute, and slid to the tarmac with a beer in his hand. He then ran to his car in the employee parking lot and made it home in nearby Belle Harbor, Queens, where Port Authority cops arrested him.
Slater was charged with reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. No action was taken against the rule-breaking passenger, a Port Authority spokesperson said.
The best part of this whole story: Slater is a member of jetBlue’s “Values Committee.” Yes, jetBlue…you CERTAINLY have VALUES. Safety, caring, integrity, fun and passion…*snort*
NO WONDER Slater was sick of it all. WHO could blame him?
There are several Facebook groups that have formed in support of Slater — the most popular one has over 10,000 supporters. You can join it by clicking HERE.
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