According to the USD$2 million lawsuit filed at the New York State Supreme Court, the New Yorker Gokhan Mutlu was informed at check-in that his JetBlue flight from San Diego to New York was full.
However, a JetBlue flight attendant agreed for Mr Mutlu to take her seat, offering to travel in an airline employee 'jump seat', Reuters reports.
After 90 minutes of the flight, the pilot informed Mr Mutlu of the hostess' discomfort in the jump seat, and told him to 'hang out' in the bathroom for the remainder of the flight, the lawsuit claimed.
The reluctance of Mr Mutlu was met with anger by the JetBlue pilot, who allegedly claimed that the passenger "should be grateful for being onboard."
The lawsuit also claimed that Mr Mutlu's request to utilise the now-vacant 'jump seat' was met with the arbitrary policy that such seating is reserved for airline personnel.
In the three and a half hours that Mr Mutlu was subjected to this seating arrangement, he experienced 'tremendous fear' during turbulence, sitting on a toilet seat sans seat belt.
This article appeared on www.etravelblackboardasia.com