Storytime: Above the Clouds with Westjet

I was flying to Atlanta for my Christmas break. It had been a really rough morning. I was exhausted and grumpy and all I wanted was a Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwich and a hot cup of earl grey tea with milk and a dash of honey. But I was late, the lines were long and I found myself running through the airport to board my plane, making it right as they called my zone up for boarding.

I was flying WestJet and realized as I boarded the plane that I wouldn’t be able spend the flight watching movies to distract myself. Oh and did I mention that my iPhone was dying? I had a full day of travelling ahead of me and it was not looking good.

I honestly don’t mind flying — As long as I’m prepared. I am terrified of being hungry on a plane because I get headaches for no reason on a good day. But factor in eight hours of travel,  add low blood sugar into the equation and it equals a recipe for disaster. I didn’t even have my water bottle on me! I couldn’t wait for the flight attendants to come by with the drink trolley.

About half an hour into the flight I finally had a cup of warm tea in my hand. Things were looking up! All of the sudden, a second flight attendant approached me and asked if I needed anything. I smiled to be polite, and said that I was happy with my tea. He gave me a quick look, and suddenly threw a Kit Kat on my tray. I looked up at him shocked. He gave me a quick wink and threw a package of Nibs on my tray and then walked away as my jaw hit the floor. Of all the days to get free treats on an airplane, this was the perfect occasion. I sat in shock for a second staring at my tea and new treats and thought to myself: was my stomach grumbling that loudly? Did he read my mind? Do I look that desperate?

There was a couple sitting across the row that had witnessed the entire exchange. The woman gave me a smile, and I offered them half of the KitKat to go along with their coffee. I felt like I needed to share my good fortune!

It was about halfway through the flight, my tea and the rest of the KitKat was long gone and I was trying to figure out how to maximize battery power on my iPhone so I could get through the rest of the flight. The flight attendants were coming round again to grab garbage and refill water, and I passed my empty KitKat wrapper off to the same man who had so kindly given it to me in the first place. He was about to walk away, when he stopped. He crouched down, looked at me and asked, “Is there anything else I can get you? Anything at all?”. Once again, I replied that I was fine, and thanked him for the treats he had given to me earlier. Without paying much attention to what I was saying, he pulled out the menu and asked me to point to what I wanted and he would get it to me. Without waiting for an answer, he stood up and said, “I think you need Pringles” and ran off down the aisle before I could even open my mouth.

Can I just take a moment and say that I freaking love pringles. Or any chips of any kind. I think I mentioned my unhealthy obsession with chips in my 50 Facts post. Like I said before.. I was starting to think that this guy could read my mind. About 15 minutes later, I was happily listening to Sarah Harmer and had (almost) forgotten about the Pringles when he came back and dropped a package on my tray. I wish I’d taken a photo of the masterpiece that was my little present, but I got wayyy too excited and opened it up before I thought to take a picture.

Sitting on my tray was a plastic bag filled with two mini cans of pringles, two KitKat bars, and a pair of WestJet headphones in an orange container. It was duct taped to a barf bag that had a note written on it and inside the barf bag was a box of snacks.

On the barf bag (how classy) was a note that said: “Merry Early Christmas! From Karl Michael, Jean and Candyer”

Inside there was a box of little airplane snacks that ranged from gluten-free crackers and pretzels to Welch’s fruit gummies and kettle chips. By this point I was smiling from ear-to-ear. I looked back over to the couple across the row and handed them a can of pringles and another KitKat. The man sitting next to me had just woken up from a nap and was more than happy to take the other KitKat off my hands. I was making so many friends!

After taking a couple of pictures, I got out my notebook and decided to write my friends at WestJet a little note. As we all walked off the plane that day I went up to Karl Michael, the man who made my day, and gave him my thank you note. He told me it was his pleasure, and gave me big hug. The other two flight attendants gave me warm smiles and wished me a Merry Christmas as I got off the plane.

I woke up early that morning grumpy and exhausted. I missed breakfast, got caught in a long line up and was randomly selected at security. I barely made it on time for my plane, completely stressed out and starving with a budding headache.

So…Dear WestJet: Thank you for making an unhappy girl feel special. Your kindness made my day a little bit brighter and changed my whole attitude towards the trip. I have never been so happy to share snacks with complete strangers. Not only on my WestJet flight, but also on the Delta flight I boarded an hour later. Not even a middle seat on a cramped airplane could have killed my mood, and the strangers I sat next to enjoyed my kettle chips and Jelly Bellies just as much as I did.

Have you ever experienced random kindness from strangers? Tell me your stories down in the comments!