Flight Attendant to Gay Couple: Stop the Touching and Kissing or We’ll Divert this Plane
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 09.26.06 | 7:31 AM ET
The New Yorker’s Lauren Collins has the sad tale of boyfriends who were singled out by a flight attendant for kissing— “not kiss kiss, just mwah,” said George Tsikhiseli, one of the kissers—and told to behave or the pilot would divert the American Airlines Paris to New York flight. As Andrew Sullivan wrote, “I think American Airlines just lost a lot of potential customers.”
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
Rhea 09.26.06 | 8:02 PM ET
God, how dumb. The couple should sue the airline.
TambourineMan 09.27.06 | 1:39 AM ET
The nerve of these terrorist kissers!
“the stewardess—a woman with, as Jackson put it, “Texas hair, like from the nineteen-sixties.”
Ha! Don’t know about you, but I’m picturing Flo from the TV show, Alice. I wonder if she told ‘em to kiss her grits.
It’s all rather ridiculous, but I don’t know if a lawsuit is necessary. If the story is true, and I were American, I’d fire Flo, apologize to the guys and Andrew Sullivan (this neocon-nut is dangerous) and cough up 20 billion frequent flier miles.
mike 09.27.06 | 7:30 AM ET
In the story American Airlines said the flight attendant’s actions were “reasonable.” Not sure how long their going to stick with that claim. I’m not sure they’re going to respond with 20 billion frequent flier miles (what’s the street value on that?), but they might have to change something if the wave of negative publicity persists.
TambourineMan 09.27.06 | 1:32 PM ET
Don’t know the street value on those miles, but it’s gotta be better than AA vouchers.
“if the wave of negative publicity persists.”
This is the first and only place I’ve read about it.
mike 09.27.06 | 10:05 PM ET
tambourine man, try this link
scottriviera 09.28.06 | 6:28 PM ET
My dollars go a long way…but not with American Airlines.
Tom 09.28.06 | 9:56 PM ET
Currently, American Airlines is soliciting its customers to join a petition to support their application to start a new route from Dallas to Beijing. In light of their undignified treatment of the gay couple that exchanged a kiss on the August 22nd flight from Paris, I am starting a campaign to oppose this aplication. Only one airline will be given a new route. Therefore I am supporting the application from United Airlines.
Below is the text of my letter to Marie Cino, Acting Secretary of Transportation. I would request that you consider joining the opposition to the new American Airlines Dallas-Beijing route by sending a similar letter to the Transportation Secretary.
The Honorable Marie Cino
Acting Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
RE: Docket 2006-25275
Dear Madam Secretary:
I am writing to express my strong opposition for the application by American Airlines to initiate nonstop service between Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) and Beijing, China. I encourage you to instead approve the application by United Airlines for the next route to Beijing.
As you may be aware, on August 22nd, American Airlines threatened two law abiding U.S. citizens with arrest and detention for interfering with a flight crew, because they merely exchanged a kiss on a flight from Paris to New York JFK. These passengers, who were seated side-by-side, were not disrupting the flight and were targeted by the aircraft employees because they were both men. Had it been a male/female couple, there is no question that their kiss would not have triggered any hostility from the crew.
The men challenged the unlawful and discriminating treatment. When asked by the flight purser to speak with the captain, one of the gentlemen was threatened that the pilot would divert the airplane if the men continued to “argue” with the crew. There would be no justifiable basis to divert a flight under such circumstances and the conduct of the captain amounts to nothing more than bullying.
Clearly, in a time of heightened security concerns, the fact that the trained American Airlines crew on an international flight cannot distinguish between simple affection and a terroristic plot, demonstrates that American Airlines is unprepared to take on the additional responsibilities for customer safety that would go with a new route.
Today we stand up for human rights and oppose the lack of those same convictions in China. We cannot allow our flag to be carried by an American Airlines, a carrier without respect for human dignity, lest we be hypocrites. In the words of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Sincerely yours,
SJ King 10.07.06 | 11:06 AM ET
I strongly support the application by United Airlines to provide an air route between Washington DC and Beijing.
Mario 01.05.07 | 11:37 PM ET
With any business, they cannot control all actions of their employees. However, they can fire them once they have done something as offensive as telling a couple to stop kissing, gay or straight. The bitch should be terminated. That is the ONLY recourse for American Airlines as far as I can see. My boyfriend and I had a similar experience on British Airways going from London to Gran Canaria Island, believe it or not. The hostess told us to stop holding hands it was upsetting the family in a row diagnol to us. We told her tough. After that, she actually refused us service.