Airborne blogger has wings clipped

Delta Airlines suspends snap-happy trolley dolly

By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 27th October 2004 10:39 GMT

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A Delta Airlines air stewardess has been suspended without pay for including photos of her in airline uniform on her weblog. She received no warning or request to remove the pictures until she was called to a meeting 6 October and suspended without pay or health benefits. Delta described the photos as "inappropriate" and said the suspension would last until their investigation was finished.

The blog was a fictionalised account of her life and work. She described the airline as Anonymous International Airlines, herself as Queen of the Sky and her hometown as Quirksville.

Queen of the Sky, or Ellen Simonetti according to the BBC, fears the company will suspend her indefinitely until she quits. She has filed a discrimination complaint against Delta with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Simonetti told the BBC she could not understand how Delta thinks the blog damages the airline.

The guest book is full of supportive messages. One noted: "Your employers are making themselves look ridiculous, I am sure that the managers who put you on suspension couldn't conceive how much negative publicity they would get. Leave your blog up , encourage other disgruntled employees to post on it , then get a job with the opposition." ®