A nice gesture, a nicer response

The week of Thanksgiving, 2013 I was scheduled to fly home on a Wednesday.  I had already been upgraded on both legs home, so it was nice knowing that I would be more comfortable.  Problem was, there were storms coming.  Being one of the busiest travel days of the year, I expected delays.  But you add bad weather on top of that, and all bets are off.

I called the hotline (another benefit of having status) and found out that I could fly home a day early with no charge as they had waived the fee.  Delta I think was happy to get some of us lemmings out of the way early so they had less problems to deal with that Wednesday.  They had me on a flight out of Baltimore to the ATL hub at 10am that Tuesday.

I checked the upgrade list to see where I was in the pecking order, and I was at the top of the list.  Yes! I thought.  Hopefully there would be a seat available in first so I don't have to squeeze in.  But, to my chagrin, first had checked in full.  Which means, 16 people had printed their boarding passes and had committed to that flight.  Checked in, and boarded are different things entirely though.

As first class boarded.  I listened for the "ding" as each was checked in.   "1...2.......13...14..15."  Only 15 dings; there was a seat and a chance... but, as luck would have it, they boarded my group and I didn't get the upgrade.  Oh well.

I was in 12C.  As I stood by on "Yeti watch" looking at every 7 foot 400 lb person walking by wondering if they were next to me, a nice lady asked to get into 12A.  I stood up and helped her put her bag in the overhead..

After the plane was fully boarded, there was no one in 12B.  Ahhhhhh a comfortable trip.  I might as well been in first for all I cared.

Shortly after, the gate agent came to my section and said, "Mr xxxxx, you have been upgraded.  Here's your new seat assignment" and left.  My large roller bag was already up above, I had my small bag underneath the seat in front of me and I was comfortable, especially since I didn't have to press flesh with someone right next to me.

I turned to the lady to my right and asked:  "Have you ever flown first class?"  "No" was the reply.  "Would you like to?"  "Yes!".  I said "Here's your chance" and handed her the upgrade and said "Happy Holidays".  She happily accepted and went to 3A.  I felt good about myself, as I did something nice for someone and helped put me in the holiday spirit.  I looked forward to telling my wife about it.

Half way through the flight, I get a note handed to me by a smiling first class FA (Flight Attendant) along with a cookie.  It was a very thoughtful note, and I thought I would share it.

What a nice soul she has.  I wish her the best.  It really let me appreciate how lucky I am to have the family that I do, and the people I call my friends.