Last week I was finishing up the last leg of a three day trip. It was an easy Minneapolis to Newark turn then a quick dash to my car; homeward bound for a few days of rest. As often happens in the airline business nothing ever seems to go to plan.
We started the day off with an early 5:30 show in Chicago. Of course it was snowing which meant deicing the aircraft and if you are a frequent traveler during the winter months deicing almost always guaranties you are going to be late. We however were very lucky; first in line to be deiced and first to the runway for takeoff. Our good fortune meant we arrived into Minneapolis on time. Here is where things started to fall apart.
As we arrived at the gate in Minneapolis we received notice that there was going to be an aircraft swap, meaning we were going to have to pack up our stuff and find a new aircraft for our Newark flight. Ok, we had an hour layover, plenty of time to move to a new gate, preflight, review the new aircrafts logs and brief the flight to the crew and get the flight out on time. Except this is Minnesota and it has now started to snow, nothing major mind you just a few flakes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the snows intensity does not increase and slow things down. No such luck. Now the snow is really coming down the visibility as dropped to 1/2 mile and the delays have already begun.
After a late inbound aircraft and two gate changes we along with 76 passengers settle in for the two hour flight to Newark but not so fast. We push out of the gate about 30 minutes late and if it was summer we could have made it to the runway in a matter of minutes and made up some time. But this is winter in Minnesota and of course the aircraft needed to be deiced. So off to the 30R (right) deice pad we go and sit and sit and sit while we wait our turn to be deiced. Another 30 minutes passes, we are now deiced and are ready to taxi the 50 yards to the runway and takeoff. Oh how cruel the aviation Gods can be; runway 30R has just been closed for plowing and we now have to taxi to 30L (Left) on the other side of the airport!
An hour and a half late we pull into the gate in Newark. I stood at the door and personally thanked each of the 76 passengers for flying with us and thanked them for their patients. Surprisingly I was greeted with nothing less than thank you’s and smiles, definitely a pick me up. I quickly grabbed the paperwork for our last leg home, reviewed the flight plan, planed taxi route and departure procedures with the First Officer. Once all the i’s were dotted and T’s were crossed on the flightdeck I jumped out into the jetway to greet another 76 anxious passengers. Some flight attendants hate when I greet my passengers, they would prefer I locked myself away in the cockpit and leave the meet and greet to them. No way man this is my face time. I love my job and I enjoy interacting with my passengers as much as I can.
About half of the 76 passengers had boarded when a nervous middle aged woman asked me if I was one of the pilots. I told her with a big smile “Not only am I one of the pilots, I am THE PILOT.” She chuckled and told me how it has been 25 years since she last flew on a plane. She told me she was more than a little nervous about flying, especially flying on a little plane like the CRJ900. I smiled back and apologized for being late and told her there was nothing to be nervous about. I gave her my personal guarantee that it was not only going to be smooth ride but it would be one of the best flights she has ever had. She smiled politely and said thank you and boarded the plane.
We arrive at the gate in Minneapolis, now two hours late, I set the parking brake and complete the shutdown checklists and head back to give my thanks and say good by to my passengers. To be honest I had forgotten about my middle aged nervous passenger when she came up to me shook my hand while pulling me in for a quick hug. “Thank you” she said “Thank you for getting us here safely.” ”You were right it was smooth and one of the best flights I have ever had.” I responded with an equally big smile “Not a problem it was my pleasure.” “You have a Grateful day.” “I will” she said as she exited the airplane.
After everyone had departed the lead flight attendant pulled me aside and told me the nervous lady was heading to Rochester MN and the Mayo Clinic. Apparently my nervous flyer was in the advanced stages of liver cancer and there was little hope for survival.
Now the point of the story is, I hope, no matter how bad one’s day is, giving a simple smile and a thank you can bring, even if for a moment, happiness and gratitude to a complete stranger. I am lucky, on a day when nothing seemed to be going for us my crew was able to bring a smile to a nervous flyer who’s days were clearly numbered. Yeah I have the best job in the world.
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