SWISS Crew Films, Distributes Video Of Couple Joining Mile High Club In First Class Galley…

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A SWISS flight crew is under fire for filming a couple joining the mile high club in the first class galley and then distributing it via WhatsApp. There’s plenty of scorn to go around here.

SWISS Crew Faces Discipline After Filming Passengers Joining Mile High Club

On SWISS flight 181 from Bangkok (BKK) to Zurich (ZRH), a couple decided to engage in fellatio in the first class galley. That galley is right outside the cockpit door and above that door is a camera…

The camera does not record, but does display a live feed of the galley in order to help the pilots know when it is safe to exit the flight deck. Well, someone in the cockpit (and we cannot necessarily say it was one of the pilots because sometimes a flight attendant may be in there) noticed what the couple was doing, pulled out a phone, and recorded the screen while they did their thing. They even added commentary like, “One more sip of Champagne and then put my d**k in your mouth again.”

Then, they shared it on WhatsApp and other internal channels. Rather quickly, the notorious Bangkok BJ video made its rounds…

When the videos leaked to the public, SWISS found itself in damage-control mode. It has promised to discipline the crew and issued the following statement:

“Filming people without their clear consent and sharing these recordings contradicts our guidelines and values ​​and violates the applicable data protection regulations. This also applies on board. Our crews are known for their professionalism. We trust in the competence of our crews and are confident in their abilities.”

“The cameras do not record anything. Filming of the monitor by the cockpit crew is only permitted in exceptional cases, for example to document safety-related incidents.”

It is not clear how the flight crew will be disciplined.

Who Is At Fault Here?

I think One Mile At A Time is correct that the flight crew had a duty to act professionally and failed. But I also think the “play stupid games, win stupid prizes” proverb is at play as well and the couple had no realistic expectation of privacy when engaging in such copulation, or whatever you want to call fellatio, in the galley outside the cockpit (with a camera very visibly above them).

Even so, I would agree with Ben that the couple was not actually causing harm to others by engaging in that activity (does not justify it, but it limits its scope) while the crew more likely caused harm to the couple and to SWISS by distributing the clandestine video.

Of course, sometimes I wonder whether of this is part of the plan. Ironically, I recently snapped a picture of this greeting card in Switzerland (in a Basel coffee shop):

You have to wonder if the couple knew others were watching and was somehow turned on by it…

The “boys will be boys” defense is no defense at all. You don’t take videos of others engaging in sexual activity without their consent and you certainly do not distribute it to others.

So yes, there should be consequences because the pilots or flight attendants in the cockpit should have known better. And as for the passengers? Well, I’m not sure a ban is appropriate. What would have been appropriate is the crew doing their job and telling them to sit down and at least do it in the suite or the lavatory…