My 15-year old daughter flew alone for the first time last week after visiting her grandparents on the West Coast. She was traveling from Portland, OR, to Pittsburgh, PA, with a connection in Denver. Since this was her first time flying alone, I enlisted the help of a friend in Denver in case of emergency. Her flight was diverted to Salt Lake City, UT, due to storms in Denver and she missed her connection.
Before she landed in Salt Lake City, Brian Biggs from Southwest in Denver called me to tell me what was happening and how they were going to take great care of her when she eventually arrived in Denver. He offered her dinner that night, breakfast the next morning, a female chaperone-supervisor and a safe place to sleep. He re-booked her flight for the next morning.
When she arrived in Denver, everything was set. The chaperone-supervisor, Claire,came to the gate to get her. They went to dinner and then Claire took her behind the scenes at Southwest in Denver. She got to see the flights coming in and out and unload/load a plane which was very exciting for her. Claire gave her a safe place to sleep (with a lock on the door), and then the next morning escorted her breakfast and her flight.
I never had to deploy my friend to take care of my daughter since Southwest took such great care of her from start to finish. I had no idea they would do this and they highly exceeded my expectations. She arrived safely in Pittsburgh the next day. Thank you so much for turning a bad situation into a great one and for confirming for me and my family why we always fly Southwest over other airlines.
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