You would think, given the tension-filled incidents that have occurred the last six weeks on United, American and Delta airlines, other carriers would have learned their lesson to avoid such public relations nightmares.
You would think.
Now JetBlue Airways is involved in another passenger-crew incident, and the trigger was, of all things, a buttercream birthday cake.
The New York Daily News is reporting that JetBlue kicked a New Jersey family of four off a May 3 flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Vegas, Cameron Burke and his family of four were planning to celebrate wife Minta's 40th birthday.
But the cake they brought onboard as a carry-on became the subject contention.
"A flight attendant nicely asked me to remove the cake from that (overhead) compartment, so I moved it to another one," Burke told the newspaper. "She then asked me to move it to underneath the seat in front of me, I did."
But then another flight attendant came over and, according to Burke, first chastised her fellow crew member regarding the cake - and then him.
Apparently, the issue was not whether the cake was buttercream, not whether the cake was even able to be carried on board, but where it was eventually placed. JetBlue said the Burke family declined several times to move the cake after storing it in a bin designated for emergency and safety equipment.
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"The customers became agitated, cursed and yelled at the crew, and made false accusations about a crewmember's fitness to fly," JetBlue spokesman Doug McGraw told the newspaper.
Another crewmember then asked Burke, his wife, and two small children to exit the plane. When they refused, the entire plane was asked to leave and return to the gate area. The Burkes were then escorted off the flight; they were refunded the costs of their flight and ended up booking a flight on United Airlines to Las Vegas the next day, but Burke's mother-in-law in Las Vegas had to retrieve their bags.
The flight's captain made the call to boot the family, and all the other passenger reboarded for the flight to Vegas.
Burke reached out to the National Action Network, and intends to file a lawsuit against JetBlue.
"I want the flight attendant fired, she has no business serving the public," Burke told the Daily News. "I hope JetBlue will re-train their staff and recreate the culture I once loved."
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