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mardi 26 septembre 2017

Why This Muslim Passenger Wants to "Commend" JetBlue

We've updated this story with comments from Ghena A. and JetBlue.

Airline horror stories are all too common - including those that involve racist or xenophobic passengers. That's why one Muslim passenger is commending JetBlue for how one of its crews handled an Islamophobic remark on a recent flight.

Twenty-seven year old Ghena A. shared in a Facebook post on May 10 a recent experience she had on a JetBlue flight flying from Orlando, FL, to LA. She was in Orlando to speak on a "Flying While Muslim" panel, dedicated to teaching JetBlue crew members how to handle discriminatory situations toward Muslim customers. When she boarded the plane on May 9, her seat was in the middle of two passengers who were traveling together. She claims that the person to the right of her was on the phone, telling someone they were separated from the other passenger due to "someone who was 'hint: Twin Towers.'"

Once the plane took off, Ghena approached a crew member and asked for a seat change. At first, the flight attendant told her the flight was full and they couldn't. But, Ghena says the attendant noticed she was upset and asked her, "Is something wrong?" Ghena was first apprehensive about telling her story. "I initially hesitated to say anything for fear of an escalated situation that would turn against me and possibly end with me getting kicked off the flight, as seems to be a recurring pattern with Muslim passengers on airlines," she said to POPSUGAR.

But, she did end up telling her story and the flight attendant immediately changed her seat. Another crew member came by and gave her a free blanket, travel pillow, and box of food, and continuously asked her throughout the flight how she was doing. You can read Ghena's full post ahead.

Ghena wrote that when the plane landed, a "security member" listened to her story and another one was telling the lady who made the comment that it wasn't "tolerated by the JetBlue family." The post, which has more than 400 reactions and 100 shares at the time of writing, ended with Ghena thanking JetBlue for its handling of the situation and for "turning an unpleasant experience into a very comfortable one."

For Ghena, she's glad that JetBlue listened to her experience and reacted accordingly. "I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction of the crew member, Heather, who reacted promptly and took the situation very seriously," Ghena said. "She quickly informed the team what was going on, and they all made sure I was okay and felt as comfortable as possible." Ghena also told her story to one of the organizers of the "Flying While Muslim" panel, who "apologized for the situation, and sent my story all the way up to the CEO. The JetBlue team went above and beyond anything I ever expected."

JetBlue told us a similar sentiment about their crew. "It's great to hear stories directly from our customers about their experiences with crewmembers who are inspiring humanity in big and small ways every day," wrote JetBlue in a statement to POPSUGAR.

Ghena hopes that in sharing her story, people remember "positive experiences too and appreciate the people and organizations that are doing good." She believes JetBlue has set an example and wants "everyone to look out for one another, speak up when something is wrong, and treat everyone with the respect every human deserves."

mardi 26 septembre 2017