Passenger sues airline over flight spent on toilet

NEW YORK - A New York City man is suing JetBlue Airways Corp. for more than $2 million because he says a pilot made him give up his seat to a flight attendant and sit on the toilet for more than three hours on a flight from California.

Gokhan Mutlu, of Manhattan’s Inwood section, says in court papers the pilot told him to “go ‘hang out’ in the bathroom” about 90 minutes into the San Diego to New York flight because the flight attendant complained that the “jump seat” she was assigned was uncomfortable, the lawsuit said.

Mutlu was traveling on a “buddy pass,“ a standby travel voucher that JetBlue employees give to friends, from New York to San Diego on Feb. 16, and returned to New York on Feb. 23, the lawsuit said.

Initially, Mutlu was told a flight attendant had taken the last seat on the plane, but then he was advised she would sit in the employee “jump seat,“ meaning he could have the last seat, the lawsuit said.

The pilot told him 1 1/2 hours into the five-hour flight that he would have to relinquish the seat to the flight attendant, court papers say. But the pilot said that Mutlu could not sit in the jump seat because only JetBlue employees were permitted to sit there, the lawsuit said.

When Mutlu expressed reluctance to go sit in the bathroom, the pilot, who was not named in the lawsuit, told him that “he was the pilot, that this was his plane, under his command that (Mutlu) should be grateful for being on board,“ the lawsuit said.

The aircraft hit turbulence and passengers were directed to return to their seats, but “the plaintiff had no seat to return to, sitting on a toilet stool with no seat belts,“ court papers say.

Some time later, a male flight attendant knocked on the restroom door and told Mutlu he could return to his original seat, court papers say.

Mutlu’s lawsuit, filed Friday in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court, says JetBlue negligently endangered him by not providing him with a seat with a safety belt or harness, in violation of federal law.

A JetBlue spokesman declined comment on the lawsuit Monday.

Free flight or not, I would think it is in the best interest of the pilot and “his” plane that every person have a seatbelt.

So true…No wonder jetblue`s “cheap”

Making a guy sit on a toilet during turbulence is incredibly irresponsible and dangerous. If the flight attendant doesn’t liekt he jumpseat that’s her damn problem. They shouldn’t move a passenger from his seat, buddy ticket or not.

Renquist - 14 May 2008 03:44 AM

Making a guy sit on a toilet during turbulence is incredibly irresponsible and dangerous. If the flight attendant doesn’t liekt he jumpseat that’s her damn problem. They shouldn’t move a passenger from his seat, buddy ticket or not.

so true.

I can’t imagine how in the heck that could happen.  It is true that company policy for every airline I know of says that standby passengers cannot sit in the crew jumpseats, but I have also never heard of a passenger being asked to give up their seat once the plane has taken off.  Especially for a crew member that didn’t like the way the jumpseat felt.  Anyone who tried to pull that here would probably get yanked off the plane as soon as it landed.  It sounds like the FA was flying standby too.  If that was the case then if she is assigned the jumpseat that should be where she should have stayed and she was lucky herself that she managed to get on the plane. 

Personally I love being in the jumpseat for a flight.  I get to sit in the cockpit for the flight and see just what the pilots actually do during a flight.  It’s a whole different view on landing and takeoff too.

gray - 14 May 2008 05:54 PM

Personally I love being in the jumpseat for a flight.  I get to sit in the cockpit for the flight and see just what the pilots actually do during a flight.  It’s a whole different view on landing and takeoff too.

You get to listen to all the screams and confusion.

Accipiter - 15 May 2008 11:21 AM

gray - 14 May 2008 05:54 PM

Personally I love being in the jumpseat for a flight. I get to sit in the cockpit for the flight and see just what the pilots actually do during a flight. It’s a whole different view on landing and takeoff too.

You get to listen to all the screams and confusion.

No, I think the sturdier cockpit doors would block out the sounds of screams.
I would love to be in a cockpit jump seat!!!
Also, every time I have to use the bathroom on a plane, I would just get settled and turbulence would start and the dang seat belt sign would come on!!!!!
Nope, I’m not coming out!!! 

Magnoire La Chouette - 15 May 2008 11:57 AM

Accipiter - 15 May 2008 11:21 AM

gray - 14 May 2008 05:54 PM

Personally I love being in the jumpseat for a flight. I get to sit in the cockpit for the flight and see just what the pilots actually do during a flight. It’s a whole different view on landing and takeoff too.

You get to listen to all the screams and confusion.

No, I think the sturdier cockpit doors would block out the sounds of screams.
I would love to be in a cockpit jump seat!!!
Also, every time I have to use the bathroom on a plane, I would just get settled and turbulence would start and the dang seat belt sign would come on!!!!!
Nope, I’m not coming out!!! 

Magnoire is right.  The cockpit door blocks out all that stuff.  The only screams I hear are in the songs on my mp3 player.