Was Traveling To See His Dying Mother In Texas

A passenger on a United flight found that sometimes, airlines really do make an effort to help.

Kerry Drake got a call on January 24 than his critically ill mother was dying. He immediately booked a flight from San Francisco to Lubbock, TX, in an effort to see her one final time. But the way the schedules worked, there was only a 40 minute window available for Drake to make his connection in Houston, and his connecting flight was the last one of the day.

When the flight from SFO was delayed, he thought he's missed his chance to see his mother. But CNN reports that, as he emotionally related his plight to the flight attendants, they said they would see what they could do, and told the captain.

On the ground in Houston and racing through the airport, he was about 20 yards from the jetway when he heard a gate agent say "Mr. Drake, we've been expecting you." The captain of the flight from SFO to Houston had radioed ahead, and the crew held the plane to Lubbock so that Mr. Drake could be on the flight.

CNN reports that Drake did manage to see his mom before she died. At one point, he said he thinks she even recognized him before passing away early in the morning.

A great story in an era where airline competition is fierce and flight crews are evaluated based in part on their on-time performance.

FMI: www.united.com