Ex-flight attendant sues Delta over blog

Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 09/08/05 | Mike Tierney

[Leroy S. Mort]

A former Delta flight attendant whose slightly naughty photos on a personal Internet blog got her permanently grounded by the airline has fired back.

Ellen Simonetti filed a sex discrimination suit Wednesday against Delta in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, claiming that male colleagues with possibly insensitive material on their own blogs have gone unpunished.

Former Delta flight attendant Ellen Simonetti says in her lawsuit that some male airline employees have personal blogs but have not been punished for them.

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages plus reinstatement to her job. She was suspended last September without pay and dismissed a month later.

Dubbed "Diary Of A Flight Attendant," Simonetti's blog, www.queenofsky.net, is the typical mishmash of personal life stories and world views. But it was an assortment of "inappropriate photos" that angered the airline, according to the lawsuit.

One photo shows Simonetti, 30, with her Delta uniform blouse partly unbuttoned, exposing a glimpse of her bra. In another, she is stretched across a row of plane seats, with her skirt somewhat hiked.

[Leroy S. Mort]

Mandatory photo follows:

[kevinm13]

You call that "naughty"? Come on. She enjoys (make that enjoyed) her job.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Well heck, Delta should use the photos as advertising points rather than grounding the girl...

[muawiyah]

I see the problem here ~ she used their airplane.

If she'd used her own there wouldn't have been a problem.

[Jet Jaguar]

She's a Cutie.

[Blueflag]

In uniform

On Delta equipment

With her badge on

Sorry, but I BET YOU that her actions violate Delta's Business Conduct Guidelines that she has officially and repeatedly signed off on.

Personally the photos are relatively benign, if inappropriate. It's not like she sat naked on the copier. But ... one cannot violate the rules in uniform on company property.

She may not be a 'badgirl' but my opinion is that she is 'wrong'.

The other employees she refers to (with websites) may not be in uniform or on company property. THAT remains to be seen.

Worth following.

[drlevy88]

Delta shouldn't discriminate however. Kick out the men doing the same thing.

[muawiyah]

She might also have violated company rules about copying or photographing their identity card ~ that's common many places, and the US Government makes it against the law to photocopy a US Government credit card ~ both the employee who allows it and the company that does it can be punished by fine, imprisonment, or both.

Wonder what Homeland Security's TSA thinks about the ID card copying going on here too.

Woman is lucky to have avoided jail, so far, and if she makes enough noise, she might still end up there.

[muawiyah]

If the men are photographing the insides of airplanes, and their company IDs, and then posting them on a blog, sure, fire them.

OTOH, if she's referring to their "nekkid" pictures, that's different.

[drlevy88]

Delta should have simply warned her to take down the suggestive materials associating her with Delta. If she didn't heed the warning, then out the door. This sounds like way overboard.

[softwarecreator]

This photo is naughty?  I could probably see more suggestive photos at their own website.

[geezerwheezer]

She is a lot better looking than most of the "Delta Dogs" that work for that sorry-ass airline. Delta used to be a really nice company to fly on, but they are so bad now I can't wait for them to go out of business. They forgot who paid the bills a long time ago, and I'm a lifetime Delta Medallion member!!!!

[drlevy88]

A photo of her wearing the card is not going to be the source of a forged card, unless it's a gigapixel resolution image.

[softwarecreator]

Here is her blog with more pictures.

[Dashing Dasher]

You call that "naughty"?


I know people who know naughty - let's see what they say!

Opinions?


I'm on a plane all day - trying to get home. I'll let you take it from here and will respond when I land!

[verity]

Fly my, I'm ......

[Thermalseeker]

She is a lot better looking than most of the "Delta Dogs" that work for that sorry-ass airline. Delta used to be a really nice company to fly on, but they are so bad now I can't wait for them to go out of business. They forgot who paid the bills a long time ago, and I'm a lifetime Delta Medallion member!!!!

You beat me to it! I've flown Delta hundreds and hundreds of times. The flight attendants are usually middle aged and homely with a serious attitude problem.

[HereInTheHeartland]

She's sitting the seat with her leg crossed.
No Delta logo visible that I see, maybe the color scheme is a a unique thing.

If that photo got her fired then the world is completely nuts.

She hardly shows any skin, much less than women show in most workplaces.

[Buzz Crutcher]

If you read her blog, she gets into some Bush-bashing (maybe this will wake GW up, too many troops in Iraq, bla bla bla). Thus ended any thoughts I had of contributing to her legal fund.

[Mr. Jeeves]

The flight attendants are usually middle aged and homely with a serious attitude problem.

Nonsense! All the major airlines employ the same hot young flight attendants they hired in the early 70's.

The exact same hot young flight attendants they hired in the early 70's ;)

Must be a union thing - new flight attendants get paid almost nothing, so only the higher-paid veterans can afford to keep doing the job. Delta's days are numbered, anyway, so Ms. Simonetti isn't going to miss out on much income.