Pilot holds flight for man going to see dying grandson

CNN ^ | January 14, 2011 | Natalie Avon

[Texas Fossil]

"You can't hold a plane for every late customer, but I think we would all agree that these were extenuating circumstances and the pilot absolutely made the right decision," Southwest spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said. "I don't think you could ask for a better example of great service for our customers."

Not company policy, but certain company culture. It is obvious that Southwest Airlines is not the typical air carrier. They are profitable and not run by a bunch of arrogant unfeeling bureaucraps.

[Dr. Ursus]

LAX has to be the worst.However,it seems this time of year
the lines shouldn’t be that bad.Orlando is also bad,but I’ve
seen people ask the TSA that they were going miss their flights and TSA move them to the front.

[lowbridge]

That's when a pilot from Southwest Airlines stepped up and held the flight at the gate until Dickinson arrived. The pilot was standing by the jetway waiting for him when Dickinson arrived in socks, so rushed that he just grabbed his shoes at security and ran through the terminal.

Sad story, but hooray for Southwest Airlines. No wonder they're profitable.

[tarheelswamprat]

The pilot was standing by the jetway waiting for him when Dickinson arrived in socks, so rushed that he just grabbed his shoes at security and ran through the terminal.

"I told him, 'Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much I appreciated that.' And he said, 'No problem. They can't leave without me anyway,' " Dickinson told KABC.

Herb Kelleher* (founder of Southwest Airlines) would approve... /g

*When Kelleher used to commute from the Southwest offices in Dallas to his home in Austin, even after putting in a full day's work, he would get up and help the stewardesses pass out snacks and drinks to the passengers.

[Ann Archy]

The Pilot is Blessed!!

To ALL Parents.....STAY MARRIED FOR YOUR KIDS!! The most dangerous place for a child is in a home without two parents.

[6SJ7]

A story of good (pilot) and evil (boyfriend).

[tanknetter]

"They were pretty much of the opinion that it didn't matter what my particular situation was. I needed to go like everybody else, so I did," said the grandfather.

There's another aspect to this as well, besides the callous TSA agents: no one else in that line would allow him to jump ahead of them.

[Roses0508]

I think drug addicted alcoholics with little or no prospects for legitimate gainful employment are just plain dangerous people and have no business being around children period.

I agree wholeheartedly.

[Hulka]

LAX is notorious for long waits and cruel, lazy and uncaring TSA mouth-breathers.

[Erik Latranyi]

I have taken well over two hours to get through security in LAX as in this story and at Orlando with my family.

I have been in those seemingly endless security lines at LAX and MCO, but it has never taken more than 45 actual minutes to get through, even when the lines are flooding out all over the terminals.

What I see more often is people who show up late and then expect special treatment for their own lack of organization.

[Beagle8U]

Don't fly into, or out, of Orlando. Sanford isn't far and its easy to get right in and out.

[Dr. Ursus]

Thanks,for the heads up.

[Beagle8U]

I think you could save time by flying into Sanford and hitchhiking to Orlando...lol.

I think its only 10-12 miles?

15 min tops, in and out.

[Sequoyah101]

I have had to wait for security and missed a flight because of it.

I used to fly a lot as well.

You got lucky.

[Hoodat]

Authorities say Dickinson's grandson, Caden Rodgers, suffered a head injury after his mother's boyfriend threw him across the room. The boyfriend reportedly told police he was drunk and high on marijuana at the time. The child later died a

Another cohabitation statistic. Children are nine times more likely to suffer abuse in a home with parent who cohabits than in a home where parents are married.

[dayglored]

> In the wild, a momma bear knows better than to let a poppa bear near her baby bear.

Yes, correct. In the wild, when a female has a new male mate (for whatever reason, but usually the new male has beaten the old male), very often the first thing the new male does is kill the offspring by the old male.

This is simple reproductive genetics -- the new male wants the female to spend her energy raising -his- offspring, not the other guy's.

This is not conscious -- it is deep in the "survival of my genes" nature of most mammals.

Humans are not far removed from other mammals in this regard. Our higher traits like kindness and compassion are great, but they do not always negate the more common ones, and in some humans, like the male in this story, the common ones get expressed in murder of innocent children.

This story brought tears to my eyes.

[Semper911]

*When Kelleher used to commute from the Southwest offices in Dallas to his home in Austin, even after putting in a full day's work, he would get up and help the stewardesses pass out snacks and drinks to the passengers

Once on a long Southwest flight, I was sitting in the front, and had just been to the bathroom, where I found that the soap dispenser was empty and there were paper towels and water sloshed all over the sink and floor. It was gross, but it happens all the time on planes. You just learn to live with it.

Then the pilot came out of the cockpit door, with the flight attendant standing guard, and used the same bathroom. When the door opened, the pilot reached into a storage locker and got a new soap dispenser, replaced it, wiped down the sink, and got down on his knees to wipe up the floor. Then he replenished the paper towel dispenser, and gave the sink one last polish, and pushed his arm way down into the trash bin to make more room for trash.

I was amazed, and vowed to be Southwest customer for life. There is no way that would happen on any of the other airlines. Just a different culture at SW.

[Shimmer1]

But not always. I don’t even allow dates around my sons even now, and my sons are nearly grown. I value their emotional well being as much as their physical well being.
Two most dangerous words in the English language: “mom’s boyfriend”

[Shimmer1]

In some cases I’m afraid it would be “GET married” not so much “stay married”

[rideharddiefast]

I, just last week had to buy a last minute emergency ticket to get to MN from Atlanta. I had no such extra wait. I agree, there is more to this story.
That being said, I still applaud the pilot.