Flier booted at PHL cites Twitter posts

A JetBlue Airways passenger says her comments and pictures about the carrier on Twitter got her booted from a flight Tuesday night at Philadelphia International Airport. JetBlue disagrees.

The she-said, airline-said scenario unfolded after Lisa Carter-Knight posted messages on Twitter saying crew members barred her entry to the plane based on her tweets and photos. JetBlue said she was kicked off for "unruly conduct."

Carter-Knight, homeward bound to Exeter, N.H., via Boston, said Wednesday that she began her journey with JetBlue at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Philadelphia International. Carter-Knight started her Twitter remarks during a delay that stretched to four hours. When the plane took off, she was left behind.

"I was told that the pilot didn't want me on the flight," Carter-Knight said. "I was told that my posting images was inappropriate and was not liked by the staff" at the gate.

Her choice of Twitter to discuss her removal from the jet ensured that the episode - a disruption that's hardly unknown in the airline industry - played out before a broader audience. JetBlue isn't releasing details on why Carter-Knight was kept off, said Morgan Johnston, a spokesman.

"The crew made the decision based on her demeanor in the terminal that she was a risk in escalation and removed her," Johnston said. Travelers distracting crew members or preventing them from performing their jobs pose a safety risk, he said.

The carrier does not bar customers for expressing criticism in any medium, Johnston said. Travelers are going to share their feelings, and removing them for doing so would be bad business, he said.

Other passengers posted negative comments about Flight 760 and were allowed on board, Johnston said. Carter-Knight said travelers were displeased by the flight's tardiness, which included a late arrival of the plane and then a delay for maintenance.

The takeoff was pushed back again when a passenger commented while boarding that the pilot might have been drinking, Johnston said. Per airline policy, that remark forced the pilot to take a sobriety test, which he passed, Johnston said.

Carter-Knight chose to accept a refund and fly on a different airline rather than take another JetBlue flight, Johnston said. Carter-Knight said she tried to book a later JetBlue flight and was told she would be refused service.