(NEXSTAR) – JetBlue says it will be “revisiting” — but not necessarily reversing — one of its policies after a passenger was denied the use of an eye mask gifted to him from a premium-class customer.
Tyler Weitzman had just boarded a recent JetBlue flight when he asked a flight attendant for an eye mask, according to a TikTok video he shared over the weekend. In response, he claimed he was told the eye masks were reserved solely for JetBlue Mint customers as part of their Snooze Kit.
“I totally understood,” he said in the video. “I said, ‘I get it. Well, if you have any extras, in 10 minutes or 30 minutes, I’m in row 10C, I’d love to have one.’”
One of the Mint passengers, overhearing the exchange, later offered Weitzman her own mask, he said.
“I was so heartwarmed,” Weitzman said of the gesture. However, the feeling wouldn’t last long, as Weitzman alleges he was approached by a flight attendant 10 minutes later, and “forced” to give back the mask because “they don’t allow people from first-class to donate anything to the passengers in economy.”
Weitzman also filmed part of his interaction with the flight attendant, during which she asks him to hand over the mask.
“You didn’t buy a Mint seat, so you cannot use the Mint products,” the flight attendant says. “I don’t have 143 other masks to give everybody else on the airplane a mask,” she later argued.
Weitzman called the policy “ridiculous” and then offered to purchase a Snooze Kit, but the flight attendant said that wouldn’t be possible. He eventually gave back the mask after being informed that he would be “kicked off the flight” if he didn’t, he explained on social media.
Many of the viewers on TikTok appeared outraged by JetBlue’s policy, with one calling it “absolutely absurd” and another saying it was “rude” that JetBlue would dictate what its Mint passengers do with their newly acquired belongings.
In response to Weitzman’s videos — each of which has garnered well over 1 million views on TikTok — JetBlue has confirmed that the airline will be “revisiting” a policy that prohibits the sharing of certain items (food, alcohol, blankets) between Mint and customers in “standard core seating.”
“The policy does not specifically mention eye masks that are provided as part of the amenity kit, and after reviewing the customer’s video and speaking to him directly, we understand the frustration he felt,” a representative for the airline said in an emailed statement. “We are sorry we were not able to provide him with an eye mask as requested and that the thoughtful gesture from another customer caused him issues.
“We are revisiting our policy to add clarity for our customers and crewmembers, and we have been in touch with the customer to offer our apologies for his experience.”
When asked for additional details, a JetBlue spokesperson said the policy is not changing “at this moment,” but rather that the airline will work to clarify “the specifics with regards to small items that a customer is provided and not expected to return.”
Weitzman later confirmed to Business Insider that JetBlue did indeed reach out and offer him a return trip in their premium Mint-class cabin, where he would be entitled to an eye mask with his Snooze Kit. Weitzman, however, may not need the mask: According to Business Insider, yet another Mint passenger on Weitzman’s initial flight gave him their personal, non-Mint eye mask after hearing the commotion.
