Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Is Delta in Deep Doo Doo?

Man Hit With Felony Charge After In-Flight Bathroom Emergency


I saw this story today on Fox, from the AP. Here's the poop:

Joao Correa, 43, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he had a bathroom emergency 30 minutes into a March 28 Delta Air Lines flight from Honduras to Atlanta, but found the single coach aisle on the Boeing 737 blocked by a beverage cart. He said he asked if he could use the lavatory in business class, but was told no.
This guy was arrested when they arrived in Atlanta because he pushed his way past a flight attendant to get to the bathroom.

Now, this strikes me as odd. As I've said, I've flown a few miles on Delta, in coach, business class, Domestic First Class, and their old International First Class. I have been in the same boat as this guy -- when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. But this idea that he asked the flight attendant to go to Business Class and was turned down -- there's more here than meets the eye. First of all, don't ask -- go to a bathroom.

I suspect if he was agitated (needed to go badly) and he approached a flight attendant, he probably alarmed the flight attendant. Honestly, if you are in this kind of trouble, all you have to do is say so to a flight attendant and you'll get the ok. Last weekend, I got up during a flight to Vegas while the seat belt sign was on, and walked back to the lav. Both flight attendants were in the back, and they both reminded me that the light was on. My response was, "I really have to go" in a pleading voice, not a threatening one. They said, "Just be careful" (I think they were talking about being careful because of the turbulence, not my aim, but who knows). I was on a London to Chicago flight once and was given a few Imodium tabs by a flight attendant, which is a clear violation of their rules (they call it the Tylenol rule, for obvious reasons).

My point is that flight attendants are people, too, and they understand, are professional and understanding, and have seen it all, including that blue water washing down the aisle during take-off (happened to me).

So I suspect that this guy either acted really strangely, or was very agitated, and was unable to explain it for some reason. The fact that he even had to touch the flight attendant means 2 things: a) he REALLY needed to go, and b) he was going to jail.

Let's see...soil your jeans or go to jail? We're not getting the whole story yet.

H/T City of Tempe website for toilet drawing. Story from FOX, sourced from AP.

PS. Forgive me a bit of liberty with the picture. I'm not dumping on Delta. I really like Delta (2.7 million miles) and I don't want them pissed at me. It was just too good to pass.

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