It doesn’t cost anything to give a cheer

I have been flying for more than 30 years for business. I have had my fair share of running through airports, dealing with canceled flights, and overall grumpy travelers.

That is what made a recent trip so remarkable - and the perfect story for World Kindness Day.

Our plane was departing on time, and we were on board, so no worries, right? All of a sudden maintenance was called and… an hour later we were taking off. With a one hour layover, it wasn’t looking good to make it to our destination for vacation.

All of a sudden, the flight attendant stopped by our seats and turned on our call buttons - saying that she was going to do her best to get us off the plane first so we could make a dash for our connection. I would call that proactive customer service!

The plane landed, and of course, it was the longest taxi in the history of the world. We saw minutes ticking away, and our plane to vacation starting on time boarding.

Our proactive flight team announced that it really would be nice if everyone just stayed put so those of us who didn’t have any more flight options that night could get off the plane first. That call button indicated who needed to get out of there fast.

And guess what? People did! They stayed in their seats and many even lifted a cheer, saying “hey you can make it!” “Rooting for you! Etc.

That positive spirit carried us through the airport, and we did indeed make the flight. Did it cost those people anything to be nice and encouraging? Nope. Did it mean a lot to us and give us that boost to sprint through the airport? Yes.

Bottom line - if you can take a moment out of your life and cheer for somebody else you never know what difference it might make. Happy World Kindness Day!