Vicarious living: it’s hard not to admire the flight attendant who snapped, swore and exited using plane’s emergency chute
Despite all the tears and recriminations over things like a bridge or tunnel to the Island airport, not to mention the argument over letting jets land there, Porter Air seems to have won over a large part of the city. The reason for its success may be the convenience, or it might be the legendary levels of customer service. But if Porter ever wants to re-brand into something a bit less inviting for its passengers—but a hell of a lot more entertaining for the rest of us—it might want to hire the guy from this Star article (when he gets out of the clink):
On Monday, a JetBlue attendant named Steven Slater snapped on the tarmac of Kennedy International Airport, authorities said.
After a dispute with a passenger who stood to fetch his luggage too soon on a full flight just in from Pittsburgh, Slater, a career flight attendant, had had enough.
He got on the intercom, let loose a string of invective, pulled the lever that activates the emergency-evacuation chute and slid down, making a dramatic exit not only from the plane but, one imagines, also his airline career.
On his way out the door, he paused to grab a beer from the beverage cart. Then he ran to the employee parking lot and drove off, the authorities said.
So much fun here. First, Slater is going to have a hard time convincing anyone that he wasn’t of sound mind. He pretty clearly knew what he was doing, as demonstrated by allegedly yelling into the intercom, “To the fucking asshole that told me to fuck off, it’s been a good 28 years!” That sounds like a resignation letter to us, albeit an awesome one.
Second, serious points for grabbing a beer before making the kind of getaway that isn’t usually seen outside of a Bond movie. Twitter is all over this, with public opinion largely on Slater’s side. As a mascot for the demeaned service class in society, it would be hard to do better than this.
UPDATE: Our favourite Taiwanese re-enactors have put together this animated version of the event.
• Flight attendant snaps, makes dramatic exit [Toronto Star]
• Cursing, beer-grabbing flight attendant pops chute, grabs spotlight [CNN]
• ‘Pulling a JetBlue’: Flight attendant Steven Slater makes a dramatic exit [National Post]
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/vicarious-living-its-hard-not-to-admire-the-flight-attendant-that-snapped-swore-and-exited-using-planes-emergency-chute/&title=Vicarious living: it’s hard not to admire the flight attendant who snapped, swore and exited using plane’s emergency chute&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Steven-Slater.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_35331" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="Steven Slater: living the dream (Image: Facebook)"][/caption]
Despite all the tears and recriminations over things like a bridge or tunnel to the Island airport, not to mention the argument over letting jets land there, Porter Air seems to have won over a large part of the city. The reason for its success may be the convenience, or it might be the legendary levels of customer service. But if Porter ever wants to re-brand into something a bit less inviting for its passengers—but a hell of a lot more entertaining for the rest of us—it might want to hire the guy from this Star article (when he gets out of the clink):
On Monday, a JetBlue attendant named Steven Slater snapped on the tarmac of Kennedy International Airport, authorities said.
After a dispute with a passenger who stood to fetch his luggage too soon on a full flight just in from Pittsburgh, Slater, a career flight attendant, had had enough.
He got on the intercom, let loose a string of invective, pulled the lever that activates the emergency-evacuation chute and slid down, making a dramatic exit not only from the plane but, one imagines, also his airline career.
On his way out the door, he paused to grab a beer from the beverage cart. Then he ran to the employee parking lot and drove off, the authorities said.
So much fun here. First, Slater is going to have a hard time convincing anyone that he wasn't of sound mind. He pretty clearly knew what he was doing, as demonstrated by allegedly yelling into the intercom, “To the fucking asshole that told me to fuck off, it's been a good 28 years!” That sounds like a resignation letter to us, albeit an awesome one.
Second, serious points for grabbing a beer before making the kind of getaway that isn't usually seen outside of a Bond movie. Twitter is all over this, with public opinion largely on Slater's side. As a mascot for the demeaned service class in society, it would be hard to do better than this.
UPDATE: Our favourite Taiwanese re-enactors have put together this animated version of the event.
• Flight attendant snaps, makes dramatic exit [Toronto Star]
• Cursing, beer-grabbing flight attendant pops chute, grabs spotlight [CNN]
• ‘Pulling a JetBlue’: Flight attendant Steven Slater makes a dramatic exit [National Post]){kind=link}
Yep, I love it! So many in the service industry put up with a lot of verbal abuse. Companies should stand up for their employees. Imagine the customer calling the attendant who is waiting on them hand and foot a “M___ F____ F____”! It’s awesome that he grabbed the mic and said what he wanted to say including thanking those passengers who treated him with “dignity and respect for the last 20 years”. So many just leave and don’t stand up for themselves or for others. Grabbing the beers and riding out on the slide is the icing on the cake! I’d pay good money to have seen that in person! BRAVO Steven Slater! You lept and the net will appear.