Who wants a job that drove him so nuts he went ballistic and jumped out the back door of a plane? Well, that would be Steven Slater, of course. The flight attendant now famous for popping the escape chute, grabbing a beer and going home from JFK airport in Queens – who has been thinking about this for the past two decades – wants his job back. And, that makes sense, since he isn’t likely to get his own reality show.
The man whose father was a pilot and mother was a flight attendant has the aviation industry “in his blood” says his Legal Aid defense attorney, Howard Turman, who continues, “That’s what he likes to do.” Of course, the fact that Slater has a funny way of showing it went unmentioned.
According to USA Today:
“His hope is to return to the aviation business,” Turman is quoted as saying by The Associated Press. AP writes that “Turman portrayed his client as hardworking, loyal and surprised by his own overnight fame. Slater ‘wants to thank the world for its understanding,’ Turman said, referring to the Internet and media response to his client’s public unraveling.”
And, Slater wants to go back to JetBlue. After all, Slater believes, according to Turman, “JetBlue is a wonderful airline which he (Slater) has loved working for, and wishes to continue working for. He understands the problems, but it has been a fair and understanding airline.”
Now, it seems, the limits of that understanding will be tested. JetBlue seems unlikely to welcome the wacky flight attendant back with open arms, according to an internal memo covered by the Wall Street Journal. Though the story of how Slater bailed hasn’t been corroborated, the airline says his actions were “unacceptable.”
Duh.
Fortunately, there are many opportunities open to him, especially if he can get Hertz to give him O.J. Simpson’s old gig. Slater clearly knows how to make a run through an airport.