twodoebs

I was going to title this post "This Week in Air Travel" but now that more than a week has passed that didn't seem like the right title.

In any event, most of you probably already know what this is all about - but for those of you don't - here goes. Did you hear about that Jetblue flight attendant who went and cursed out his flight - grabbed a few beers then jumped out the emergency chute??? Well - - yep, I was ON that flight. Here's what I can tell you:

I was in the LAST row of the plane - row 25, seat D (window seat). Because of this, I was one of the earliest boarders. I saw the flight attendant as I boarded and noticed quite quickly he had a cut on his head. It bugged me because there wasn't a bandaid on it - and there SHOULD have been. The passenger in front of me made a comment to him and he responded with some kind of snarky joke.

The flight passed relatively uneventfully. Then - we landed. We taxied and came to a stop. Antsy people started to get up to grab their bags. A female flight attendant came on the speaker and reminded all the people to have a seat until the pilot notified us when it was safe. VERY soon after, we rolled forward a few more feet - and came to a stop again. The seatbelt light turned off and once again people all jumped to their feet to grab their bags.

THEN it happened! Mr. Slater jumped on the speaker and showered us with his short but profanity laced adios. Most of us in the back just gasped - giggled a little - then carried on with the business of the airport. By the time I got off, they'd already closed that exit door so I missed even seeing the chute deployed. Must admit - I am kinda bummed about that!

In any event, like a good modern girl I promptly put it on facebook. Within a few hours this turned into a 'real story' with everyone posting links to CNN articles and such. Then a friend asked if I'd be willing to talk to HER friend who worked at CBS. SURE I thought - what fun! I then spent ALL night fielding phone calls, answering emails - they wanted me to be on the Early Show. I didn't think I would have the most compelling story to tell since I didn't see his dramatic exist. CBS apparently agreed and at 6am, they "passed".

7:30am though, the local CBS station called - would I be willing to talk to them? SURE I thought - what fun! Well . . . I did. The interview took about 15 mins then - it went EVERYWHERE!

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/11/defenders-turn-out-after-spectacular-jetblue-exit/

Another friend asked if I'd be wiling to talk to her friend at the AP - I happen to really like AP - so why not, I thought. Well I shoulda known - talking to the AP is like talking to the universe:
http://www.ctpost.com/default/article/Passenger-NY-flight-attendant-s-curses-drew-gasps-612084.php
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/08/11/us_flight_attendant_arrest_1
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/11/2144286/flight-attendants-bizarre-antics.html
And so forth . . .

Then - it all turned wierd. People calling my in-laws house, people calling a cell number I never gave out, people calling my father-in-law's office. YIKES. It just became WAY too much. Then Thursday night I got a call from GMA - my DREAM! I had privately declared a moratorium on media - but for GMA!!?? SURE! After a series of phone calls with a producer planning a crew coming over to do a shoot . . . poof. It was gone. All over - moving on to the next story.

All in all, at the end of it all - I tend to think Mr. Slater was made more of than his story supports. I don't think he should go to jail, nor do I think he will. It was fascinating to watch the bubble of a story grow, grow and then pop, and poof. Gone like the wind!

The return flight sadly was without the extra entertainment. Just the 36 Channels of DirecTV programming! In case you were wondering - I DID get $100 from JetBlue! THANKS JETBLUE!! I'll be back for sure!