On a Northwest Airways flight from Atlanta , GA , a well attired
middle-aged woman found herself sitting next to a man wearing a kippa
(“yarmulka” in Yiddish).
She called the attendant over to complain about her seating.
“What seems to be the problem, Madam?” asked the attendant.
“You’ve sat me next to a Jew!! I can’t possibly sit next to this strange
man. Please find me another seat!”
“Madam, I will see what I can do to accommodate,” the attendant replied,
“but the flight is virtually full today and I don’t know if there is
another seat available.”
The woman shoots a snooty look at the snubbed Jewish man beside her (not
to mention the surrounding passengers).
A few minutes later the
attendant returned and said, “Madam, the economy and club sections are
full, however, we do have one seat in First class.”
Before the lady had a chance to respond, the attendant continued, “It is
only on exceptions that we make this kind of upgrade, and I had to ask
permission from the captain. But, given the circumstances, the captain
felt that no one should be forced to sit next to an unpleasant
person…”
The flight attendant turned to the Jewish man sitting next to her, and
said:
“So if you’d like to get your things, Sir, I have a comfortable seat for
you in First class…”
At this point, the surrounding passengers stood up and gave a standing
ovation while the Jewish man walked up to the front of the plane.
The lady then said indignantly,
“The Captain must have made a mistake..”
To which the attendant replied,
“No Ma’am. Captain Cohen never makes a mistake.”