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Steven Slater, the airline steward whose flamboyant resignation - turned him into a global anti-hero, has perplexed his legion of fans by begging for his job back.
A few days after apparently jettisoning his career, Mr Slater’s lawyer said that he wanted to carry on working in aviation and he would like to return to JetBlue, the airline he “loved”.
Even before the volte-face, the Slater worship had begun to dissipate with reports from passengers on the flight claiming that the steward had been surly and rude throughout the trip.
Donald Trump, the US businessman who loaned his “You’re fired!” catchphrase to Lord Sugar, is not one of Mr Slater’s admirers. “I don’t think he’s going to be a folk hero for very long,” he said. “I think as an employee he’s horrible, and as an employer I would really go after him big league. He had a bad day. … I don’t think that’s a hero.”
Howard Turman, the lawyer representing Mr Slater, agreed that his client had been experiencing a bad day. “His hope is to return to the aviation business,” he said. “JetBlue is a wonderful airline which he has loved working for and wishes to continue working for. He understands the problems but it has been a fair and understanding airline.”
During a press conference, Mr Slater allowed his lawyer to do most of the talking. He smiled throughout before thanking the public for their reaction, “It’s been amazing, the support and love,” he said. “Everything that’s been brought to me.”
Mr Turman denied that Mr Slater had been belligerent and said that the entire episode could be blamed on a “lack of civility on the part of one passenger”.
Some passengers also said that he might have been disturbed by an injury. They said that he had a large cut or welt on his head — sustained, his lawyer said, when he tried to help a passenger with a bag too big for the overhead bins.
Lauren Dominijanni, 25, of Pittsburgh, said that she asked Mr Slater for a wipe to clean up spilt coffee during the flight and he had rolled his eyes and blurted an exasperated “what?” and gestured to the gash on his head.
Some passengers have claimed that throughout the flight he slammed galley doors and overhead bins unnecessarily and ended the snack service early. Others said that until Mr Slater’s intercom rant, his interactions with passengers appeared curt, but not unusually so.
Mr Slater faces charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. His boyfriend, Kenneth Rochelle, said that Mr Slater was a “lovely, classy, beautiful person” who was ordinarily very patient with passengers and loved his job.
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