OK, we don't agree with the way JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater expressed his aggravation with airline travel -- haranguing a misbehaving passenger, grabbing a beer from the beverage cart, then sliding down the plane's emergency exit chute -- but the incident is an over-the-top example of the angry skies of summer travel.
Getting on plane is an occasion brimming with opportunities for irritation.
The airlines have cut back on the number of flights, so planes are packed. Passage of the so-called bill of airline passengers rights has limited the amount of time passengers sit on the tarmac to no more than three hours, but, unhappily, it also increased flight cancellations earlier this summer.
Then there is the contentious business of luggage. A growing number of airlines charge for checked bags, extra fees that do not show up on those online comparisons of ticket prices. To avoid these fees and the tedious wait at baggage claim, passengers are toting luggage they can barely carry onto planes, let alone lift into the overhead compartments. Competition for space in these overhead bins can be fierce, the early boarders get the bins, the last on board often have to send their bags down below to the baggage hole.
Finally there are the "bolters." These self-important passengers don't wait until the aircraft has made a complete stop at the gate to wrest their bag from an overheard bin, then sprint to the aircraft door.
Apparently, a nasty encounter with a "bolter" set Mr. Slater off when the full JetBlue flight from Pittsburgh landed in New York on Monday. According to news reports, Mr. Slater asked the male passenger to remain seated. The passenger refused, and pulled luggage from the overhead bin, which hit Mr. Slater. The passenger cursed at Mr. Slater. In turn, Mr. Slater got on the plane's public address system and cursed out the passenger. He mentioned his 20 years in the airline industry, said "That's enough," and exited via the inflatable slide.
Police later arrested him at his home in Long Island and charged him with felony counts of mischief and reckless endangerment.
Already, Facebook pages have been set up in tribute to Mr. Slater. Many of the comments on these pages defend Mr. Slater, saying the rude passenger, not he, should be prosecuted. We do not agree. Other comments praised his dramatic chute exit, suggesting that all of us, from time to time, have wanted to hit the escape button. We agree.
Despite the feelings of his online fans, Steven Slater is not a folk hero. But neither should he be a felon. He is a flight attendant whom we suspect will soon be looking for a less stressful job. His blowup at JFK and the legions who condone his take-this-job-and-shove-it behavior are evidence of both the frustration people have with their jobs and with the often unpleasant experience of modern airline travel.
