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Comment by merpnderp | Hacker News Reader

Have people really asked for a place to pray while flying on a plane? Why would JetBlue ask such a weird question?

Definitely, for sure both jews and muslims. The "following instructions from female flight attendants" thing I would guess also isn't out of the blue... maybe the airline has had experience with people not following female flight attendant rules.

> The "following instructions from female flight attendants"

There have been a few instances of people refusing to allow a woman to sit next to them. They don't always move themselves, they sometimes insist the woman is moved.

EG, but there are other examples: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11406112

Male Hasidic Jews have a thing where they refuse to acknowledge female flight attendants. I've seen this at least 5 times.

Some middle eastern airlines have prayer rooms on their aircraft as well as indicators in the room so you know which direction Mecca is.

Etihad goes further and plays a short prayer before take-off. You can check where Mecca is at any time on your screen.

Not sure where I have read it, nor can I confirm but I remember they also try to avoid scheduling flights during prayer hours (if possible)

The sacred texts don't indicate what is appropriate to do while flying in an airplane?

Can't read arabic :)

It would have given them an excuse not to let him on the plane. Not that they needed the excuse, obviously, but they would have liked it better if they had a reason. "There's no room on this plane that wasn't designed for such a thing."

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