September 29th, 2006, 06:43
AIR KISS
Issue of 2006-09-25
Posted 2006-09-18
American Airlines Flight 45тАФdeparting Charles de Gaulle at 10:40 A.M., arriving J.F.K. at one each afternoonтАФis a touristтАЩs delight: timed just right to avoid late checkout, leaving time for one last Kir Royale at Les Deux Magots. On August 22nd, the coach cabin was packed with vacationing New Yorkers. Ralph Jackson (21A) and David Leisner (21B) were returning from two weeks in France, while Huffa Frobes-Cross (21F) had stopped over in Paris on his way back from South Africa. Assigned to seats 20A and 20B were George Tsikhiseli, a television journalist, and his writer boyfriend, Stephan Varnier. тАЬWeтАЩve been together only four months,тАЭ Tsikhiseli said last week. тАЬSo it felt like a honeymoon.тАЭ
Twelve days earlier, British police had foiled a terrorist plot to blow up airliners. Heightened security had delayed the flight by about two hours, and passengers, by the time they boarded, were ready to relax. тАЬI had a Jos├й Saramago book I was looking forward to reading,тАЭ Leisner said. тАЬAnd then I was going to take some melatonin and have a little nap.тАЭ
Shortly after takeoff, Varnier nodded off, leaning his head on Tsikhiseli. A stewardess came over to their row. тАЬThe purser wants you to stop that,тАЭ she said.
тАЬI opened my eyes and was, like, тАШStop what?тАЩ тАЭ Varnier recalled the other day.
тАЬThe touching and the kissing,тАЭ the stewardess said, before walking away.
Tsikhiseli and Varnier were taken aback. тАЬHe would rest his head on my shoulder or the other way around. WeтАЩd kissтАФnot kiss kiss, just mwah,тАЭ Tsikhiseli recalled, making a smacking sound.
In the row behind them were Leisner and Jackson. тАЬThey were like two lovebirds,тАЭ said Leisner, who is a classical guitarist. Frobes-Cross, a Columbia grad student who was sitting across the aisle, had overheard the stewardessтАЩs decree, too. тАЬFirst thing I catch is тАШYou have to stop touching each other,тАЩ тАЭ he said. тАЬAnd IтАЩm, like, Whoa, thatтАЩs really weird.тАЭ
Leisner and Jackson, who were тАЬastounded,тАЭ leaned forward to ask if theyтАЩd heard correctly. When Tsikhiseli and Varnier confirmed that they had, the four men summoned a stewardess and asked to speak with the purser.
A little later, the purser appeared at Row 20. She was, by all accounts, calm and professional; to the menтАЩs surprise, she said that she knew nothing about the incident and had not instructed the stewardess to tell Tsikhiseli and Varnier to stop touching each other.
тАЬWhich stewardess was it?тАЭ she asked.
One of the men pointed out the stewardessтАФa woman with, as Jackson put it, тАЬTexas hair, like from the nineteen-sixties.тАЭ According to Leisner, the purser rolled her eyes and said, тАЬOh, say no more. I know.тАЭ
The purser asked the men to describe what theyтАЩd been doing, and she acknowledged that their behavior had not been inappropriate. Tsikhiseli then asked if the stewardess would have made the request if the kissers had been a man and a woman. Suddenly, Leisner said, the purser тАЬbecame very rigid.тАЭ Contradicting what sheтАЩd told them before, she stiffly said, тАЬKissing is inappropriate behavior on an airplane.тАЭ She then said that she was busy with the meal service and promised to come back.
Half an hour later, the purser returned, this time saying that some passengers had complained about Tsikhiseli and VarnierтАЩs behavior earlier. The men asked more questions. Who had complained? (She couldnтАЩt say.) Could they have the stewardessтАЩs name, or employee number? (No.) Would the purser arrange for an American Airlines representative to meet them upon landing at J.F.K.? (Not possible.) Finally, the purser said that if they didnтАЩt drop the matter the flight would be diverted. After that, Leisner said, тАЬeveryone shut up for a while.тАЭ
Maybe an hour later, the purser approached Tsikhiseli and said that the captain wanted to talk to him. Tsikhiseli went up to the galley and gave the captain his business card. The captain told Tsikhiseli that if they didnтАЩt stop arguing with the crew he would indeed divert the plane. тАЬI want you to go back to your seat and behave the rest of the flight, and weтАЩll see you in New York,тАЭ he said. Tsikhiseli returned to coach.
Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, said that the stewardessтАЩs injunction to the men was reasonable, and would have been made whether the couple was gay or straight. тАЬOur passengers need to recognize that they are in an environment with all ages, backgrounds, creeds, and races. We have an obligation to make as many of them feel as comfortable as possible,тАЭ he said. (He added, тАЬOur understanding is that the level of affection was more than a quick peck on the cheek.тАЭ) But a customer-service representative named Terri, reached last week on the telephone, offered the opinion that kissing on airplanes is indeed permissible. тАЬOh, yeah! Sure. IтАЩve seen couples who are on honeymoons,тАЭ she said. тАЬThey just donтАЩt want you to go into the bathroom together.тАЭ
www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060925ta_talk_collins (http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060925ta_talk_collins)
Issue of 2006-09-25
Posted 2006-09-18
American Airlines Flight 45тАФdeparting Charles de Gaulle at 10:40 A.M., arriving J.F.K. at one each afternoonтАФis a touristтАЩs delight: timed just right to avoid late checkout, leaving time for one last Kir Royale at Les Deux Magots. On August 22nd, the coach cabin was packed with vacationing New Yorkers. Ralph Jackson (21A) and David Leisner (21B) were returning from two weeks in France, while Huffa Frobes-Cross (21F) had stopped over in Paris on his way back from South Africa. Assigned to seats 20A and 20B were George Tsikhiseli, a television journalist, and his writer boyfriend, Stephan Varnier. тАЬWeтАЩve been together only four months,тАЭ Tsikhiseli said last week. тАЬSo it felt like a honeymoon.тАЭ
Twelve days earlier, British police had foiled a terrorist plot to blow up airliners. Heightened security had delayed the flight by about two hours, and passengers, by the time they boarded, were ready to relax. тАЬI had a Jos├й Saramago book I was looking forward to reading,тАЭ Leisner said. тАЬAnd then I was going to take some melatonin and have a little nap.тАЭ
Shortly after takeoff, Varnier nodded off, leaning his head on Tsikhiseli. A stewardess came over to their row. тАЬThe purser wants you to stop that,тАЭ she said.
тАЬI opened my eyes and was, like, тАШStop what?тАЩ тАЭ Varnier recalled the other day.
тАЬThe touching and the kissing,тАЭ the stewardess said, before walking away.
Tsikhiseli and Varnier were taken aback. тАЬHe would rest his head on my shoulder or the other way around. WeтАЩd kissтАФnot kiss kiss, just mwah,тАЭ Tsikhiseli recalled, making a smacking sound.
In the row behind them were Leisner and Jackson. тАЬThey were like two lovebirds,тАЭ said Leisner, who is a classical guitarist. Frobes-Cross, a Columbia grad student who was sitting across the aisle, had overheard the stewardessтАЩs decree, too. тАЬFirst thing I catch is тАШYou have to stop touching each other,тАЩ тАЭ he said. тАЬAnd IтАЩm, like, Whoa, thatтАЩs really weird.тАЭ
Leisner and Jackson, who were тАЬastounded,тАЭ leaned forward to ask if theyтАЩd heard correctly. When Tsikhiseli and Varnier confirmed that they had, the four men summoned a stewardess and asked to speak with the purser.
A little later, the purser appeared at Row 20. She was, by all accounts, calm and professional; to the menтАЩs surprise, she said that she knew nothing about the incident and had not instructed the stewardess to tell Tsikhiseli and Varnier to stop touching each other.
тАЬWhich stewardess was it?тАЭ she asked.
One of the men pointed out the stewardessтАФa woman with, as Jackson put it, тАЬTexas hair, like from the nineteen-sixties.тАЭ According to Leisner, the purser rolled her eyes and said, тАЬOh, say no more. I know.тАЭ
The purser asked the men to describe what theyтАЩd been doing, and she acknowledged that their behavior had not been inappropriate. Tsikhiseli then asked if the stewardess would have made the request if the kissers had been a man and a woman. Suddenly, Leisner said, the purser тАЬbecame very rigid.тАЭ Contradicting what sheтАЩd told them before, she stiffly said, тАЬKissing is inappropriate behavior on an airplane.тАЭ She then said that she was busy with the meal service and promised to come back.
Half an hour later, the purser returned, this time saying that some passengers had complained about Tsikhiseli and VarnierтАЩs behavior earlier. The men asked more questions. Who had complained? (She couldnтАЩt say.) Could they have the stewardessтАЩs name, or employee number? (No.) Would the purser arrange for an American Airlines representative to meet them upon landing at J.F.K.? (Not possible.) Finally, the purser said that if they didnтАЩt drop the matter the flight would be diverted. After that, Leisner said, тАЬeveryone shut up for a while.тАЭ
Maybe an hour later, the purser approached Tsikhiseli and said that the captain wanted to talk to him. Tsikhiseli went up to the galley and gave the captain his business card. The captain told Tsikhiseli that if they didnтАЩt stop arguing with the crew he would indeed divert the plane. тАЬI want you to go back to your seat and behave the rest of the flight, and weтАЩll see you in New York,тАЭ he said. Tsikhiseli returned to coach.
Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, said that the stewardessтАЩs injunction to the men was reasonable, and would have been made whether the couple was gay or straight. тАЬOur passengers need to recognize that they are in an environment with all ages, backgrounds, creeds, and races. We have an obligation to make as many of them feel as comfortable as possible,тАЭ he said. (He added, тАЬOur understanding is that the level of affection was more than a quick peck on the cheek.тАЭ) But a customer-service representative named Terri, reached last week on the telephone, offered the opinion that kissing on airplanes is indeed permissible. тАЬOh, yeah! Sure. IтАЩve seen couples who are on honeymoons,тАЭ she said. тАЬThey just donтАЩt want you to go into the bathroom together.тАЭ
www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060925ta_talk_collins (http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/articles/060925ta_talk_collins)