United Airlines made a kind gesture by delaying a flight so a man would get to see his dying mother on time.
Kerry Drake learned that his mother who had rheumatoid arthritis was dying on January 24. He immediately booked a flight from San Francisco on United Airlines to see his mother in Lubbock, Texas, CNN reports.
He only had 40 minutes between his first flight and his second flight. When his first flight was delayed, he thought he was going to miss his connecting flight to Lubbock, which was the last flight of the day.
He started to cry. The flight attendants noticed Drake and they brought him napkins and tried to comfort him. They also gave his connecting flight information to the captain.
When Drake got off the flight, he ran towards the gate.
I was still like maybe 20 yards away when I heard the gate agent say, 'Mr. Drake, we've been expecting you,'" he told CNN.
The captain had radioed ahead to the airline to explain Drake's situation and the Lubbock crew delayed the flight so he would be able to get on board and say goodbye to his mother.
When Drake settled down on the flight and realized what the airline did, he "was overcome with emotion," he said. The crew in Houston even made sure his luggage was on time.
Drake was able to see his mother before she passed.
"At one point she opened her eyes, and I think she recognized me," Drake told CNN. He spent the night at her bedside. "Around 4 a.m. she had a real moment of coherence, a last rally, although we didn't know it at the time. It was the last time."
She died later that morning.
When Drake returned home, he wrote to the airline to recognize the crew that helped him and thank them for what they did. Drake's story was mentioned in an employee newsletter to let other employees know of the good deed.
"Our employees really worked together that day to help this customer," said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy.
Airlines boat their record for having flight that are on time, so it is rare for them to delay a flight.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
