Good and bad news is a part of life. Thanks to news reporters, our smartphones, and social media, we’re in tune with everything that’s happening around the world, almost as soon as it happens. It’s a bitter-sweet notion because sometimes the news is positive, and other (or most) times the news is a sad reality.
When you think of airplanes and airports being in the news, one immediately assumes that the only reason they’d be in the report is that there are delays, cancellations, and flights that have been affected by storms. We never associate news related to airports to something positive. But, that’s not always the case. One such story is shared here, today.
One day, after everyone had boarded American Airlines Flight 2459, each passenger was handed a note right before the captain took his seat in the cockpit. As soon as the passengers read this note, they were surprised to know that this flight was the captain’s final goodbye.
Captain Jeff Rowland had spent 33 years on the plane, flying people from one destination to the other, and ensuring their comfort and safety while his passengers were on his flight. LA Times sports columnist Sam Farmer later reported that he was greeted with streamers and balloons, before being handed the touching letter.
This letter talked about the Captain’s journey around the world — numerous times. For any employee, it’s always imperative that they thank their employer for all that they’ve done before he/she moves on from that position. So, Captain Jeff Rowland was sure to thank American Airlines. But, more importantly, he mentioned all his passengers in his letter, too.
In a heartfelt mention, he wrote, “While I owe my career to their efforts [American Airlines], most of all, I owe you, the AA passenger, for your travel with our company. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. AA only made one big mistake I can think of with me… they paid me, and I would have done this for nothing! (I think I’ll laugh all the way to the bank).”
As a passenger on the plane, you hardly get these one-on-one encounters with your captain, so in my opinion, the people on flight 2459 were in for a treat the day Captain Jeff Rowland was celebrating his last day on the job!
Do you have any fun airplane-related stories to share? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below!
