Civility Can Be Found on Some Flights

March 3, 2010 — -- You saw the disgraceful headlines: "Fight Cancels Flight! " Unfortunately, this stunning display of (alleged) fisticuffs aboard a plane wasn't a brawl between drunken passengers; the combatants were reportedly flight attendants.

I thought I'd never get the bad taste out of that out of my mouth, until I remembered a letter I received in response to my recent column on bereavement fares. Lori Chalupa wanted to tell me about her long-ago but never-to-be-forgotten experience with United Airlines.

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"It was one of those late night phone calls you never want to get, you know?" she began.

Lori's father was dying hundreds of miles from her home, and none of the airlines she called were helpful in getting her on a last minute flight at the lowest possible price. Then she spoke to United. "I broke down and cried!" she said. And what did that airline rep do? He listened.

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He took the trouble to listen and explain how she could get a much-needed cheaper fare, and she made it to her father's bedside in time. Nice story, but maybe you're thinking, "No big deal." Oh, but it was a very big deal to Lori and it won the airline a customer for life. As she put it, "I have United always at the top of my list."