I recently read an interesting article about an airline that went above and beyond to help a passenger. The mission statement for Southwest Airlines is based on high-quality customer service that is delivered with warmth, pride, and company spirit. Peggy Uhle was boarding a plane from Chicago to Ohio; suddenly the plane returned to the gate before taking off. A flight attendant came up to Uhle and asked her to leave the aircraft. The mother thought she was on the wrong flight but, once she got off the plane, she realized that Southwest was trying to help her visit her son who was in a life or death situation.

The agent told Uhle to check in at the front desk and call her husband.  She called her husband and was informed that her son had a severe head injury. Her son was in a coma back in Colorado. She panicked and was tremendously worried about her son. Uhle realized she couldn’t go to Ohio if her son’s life was at risk back in Colorado. She went up to the agent to ask to change her flight. To her surprise, she was already booked on the next flight to Denver by the Southwest agent. The gate attendant was already notified about the situation; which is why they were able to book her on the next flight to Denver, which was boarding in two hours. Southwest was generous enough not to charge the mother any fees for the change in flight destination. The mother was full of emotions with the news about her son and the kind act from Southwest. Uhle’s son was in a coma, and the airline was able to give the mother an opportunity to see her son. They took care of the mother’s plane destination, luggage, boarding assistance, and even provided her with a meal after getting off the plane in Denver. Southwest was able to provide the mother with kindness that she never expected and was very compassionate and understanding towards her situation. The airline called her once she landed and enquired about her son’s condition. The airline was able to surpass what’s expected of an airline.

I thought this article was interesting because I never expected an airline to do all of this for a passenger. They were able to give a mother the chance to see her son who was in a critical condition and she’ll forever be grateful to the airline; I feel like airlines that have missions to provide the best customer service to the passengers should follow in the footsteps of Southwest Airlines. I could never imagine receiving a call about one of my children being in a coma. I would never have the ability to make arrangements due to the shock I would be feeling. To have an airline plan everything ahead of time would be a weight off my shoulders and would provide me the peace of mind in knowing that I would be able to see my son. Airlines such as Southwest help restore our faith in humanity.

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