What Took Them So Long?

Finally, after deliberating for the better part of a month, JetBlue Airways fired Steven Slater - the coffee, tea or flee flight attendant who deployed an emergency shute to leave a flight prematurely at JFK International-New York after allegedly cursing out a passenger on the airplane intercom and grabbing a beer. This reckless and selfish act made the errant FA an Internet folk hero, but it shouldn't have. JetBlue was right to fire him - it should have happened sooner.

Flight attendants flocked to support him, pointing out, rightly, that FAs are often treated poorly by their employers and sometimes by passengers. What most Slater supporters did not say is that flight attendants - especially on U.S. carriers - are also often brusque and rude to passengers, who are, after all, paying good money to fly. FAs, however stressed, are paid to be there, and they are trained to deal with uncomfortable situations. Seen in this light, Slater was about as unprofessional as he could have been. Moreover, the would-be hero did not tell off an oppressive and powerful boss before leaving - if media accounts are correct, he dissed dozens of powerless travelers who were unfortunate enough to be in his care. This is a hero?

Slater still faces charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. He should have a day in court, and if the charges stand up before a judge or jury, he should be convicted and hit with an appropriate penalty. People have got to understand that venting and throwing a temper tantrum on the job is not cool, not clever and not acceptable. Travel is stressful enough already without travel pros unraveling and thinking only of themselves.

Oh, one more thing: Where is the abusive passenger who supposedly triggered the whole thing?

Closing Words on the Slater Rules

As noted by many, the rage-fueled JetBlue flight attendant who abandoned his post via an emergency shute - one Steven Slater - has become a sensation on the sensation-loving Internet and a folk hero to frustrated workers.

People may want to reconsider the rush to canonize Slater, however - let alone rush to play by the I Gotta be Me Slater Rules. As reported in the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets, Slater's story about how he was assaulted by a vengeful female passenger in a dispute over luggage may be unraveling. Neither legal authorities nor journalists have done the obvious thing in this she-said/he-said situation - interview the passenger - and there is a reasonable doubt that the passenger even exists.

How do we establish the truth of what happened on the now-infamous JetBlue flight from Pittsburgh to New York City? By following up on the legal charges filed against Slater for criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing -not by waving them aside and letting bygones be bygones, but by putting him on trial. Trial by media is not a good idea, and exoneration via Facebook isn't so hot, either. This is a case for the courts.

Being a flight attendant is, let us remember, a service industry job. Whose goals are served when an FA curses out a passenger on the airplane intercom - and children, among others, can hear the profanity - and suddenly leaves his post, however colorfully? He was being paid to be there; the passengers were not. He was trained to deal with exceptional circumstances, prepped on how to deal with rude or confused customers; passengers, who paid good money to get from point A to point B safely and without being disrespected, received no such training. He was supposed to rise above it. Media accounts are now quoting passengers who describe Slater as curt and flustered throughout the flight. So, hold the praise. Maybe he's just a jerk.

Fewer flights and fewer airline workers - U.S. airline workforces have been cut by one-fourth in the past decade, according to an Associated Press report today - lead to fuller planes, degraded service, customer frustration and more stress for air travelers and aviation employees alike. In such circumstances, it behooves us all to straighten up and fly right.

Final thought: A TV news report on one of my local stations excerpted an old episode of "Seinfeld'' that showed Jason Alexander as George telling off his fictional TV boss, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, and quitting on the spot. The late owner was, of course, a powerful man. Who did Slater tell off in real life when he purportedly quit his job? The powerless, trapped on a plane.

Slater's 15 minutes of fame has already lasted too long. A trial would prolong that. But it may also establish the truth of what happened, provide punishment if appropriate - and most importantly, serve as a cautionary tale on heroism and celebrity in the Age of the Internet.

The Steven Slater Rules

For a society desperately, passionately, incoherently seeking a hero, we have Steven Slater.

Slater is a JetBlue Airways flight attendant - probably a former FA by now - who has 'gone viral' and become an Internet hero by taking a well-worn route to contemporary hero status: Embracing extreme behavior, self-absorption and self-righteousness.

If you haven't heard, the resident of Queens, N.Y. got into an altercation on a flight from Pittsburgh to New York City with a passenger that other travelers describe as rude. He may or may not have been assaulted by said passenger. It may have been at the beginning or the end of the flight - accounts differ. Slater reportedly responded to provocation by cursing out the passenger over the aircraft intercom (while also praising respectful passengers), snatching a beer and, most dramatically, deploying the emergency escape shute to leave the plane on his own at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He's outta here!

The 20-year airline veteran was arrested yesterday and arraigned today. He showed his respect for the court by wearing plaid shorts and what courtroom attendees described as a smirk. It's only a matter of days - that's years in Internet time - before he has his own reality TV show, a book deal, a public relations firm, a celebrity lawyer and someone to play him in the made-for-cable movie.

Airline passengers are, to be sure, often far from polite, and they have been known to take out their frustration on airline flight crews and airport workers. Stuffed into miniature seats, made to pay for food, checked bags and extra legroom, and subject to cascading delays, they have reason to be frustrated, though no good excuse for being rude.

FAs, of course, are on the frontlines of customer service. However, customer service is not much more than a rumor on many U.S. domestic flights; JetBlue is actually one of the better airlines. Deploying the emergency shute and getting off the plane takes to a literal degree what many American airline workers have already done in subtler ways: Bail out.

There will be more of this, as stressed-out workers and copycats decide to play by the Steven Slater rules. You know, the rules that allow you to do what you want to do, when you want to do it because it's hard being you. Really too bad about the other people who just happen to be there, but there's no stopping a hero, if you know what I mean.