See What Southwest Airlines Did For A Passenger After Learning Her Son Was In A Coma, Free Flight And More

A Southwest Airlines passenger was surprised when her taxiing plane turned around and headed back to the gate, and flight attendants told her to exit the plane and immediately call home. What Southwest Airlines knew that passenger Peggy Uhle did not was that her son had fallen into a coma. After learning the bad news, Peggy also learned that Southwest had taken care of everything for her. She had already been re-routed straight to Denver to be at her son’s bedside, free of charge. In addition to getting Peggy swiftly onto a new plane, the airlines also gave her priority boarding, a packed lunch, luggage transfer, and a private waiting area without the woman ever needing to make a request.

CBS 21 reports that Peggy Uhle was asked to depart her plane after it abandoned its takeoff and returned to the airport gate. Peggy had turned off her cell phone before boarding the plane, so she missed a call from her husband.

“With less than an hour between flights and the earliness, I did not turn on my phone to check messages. I boarded my flight, the attendants closed the door, and we started to pull away from the gate. But then the aircraft returned to the gate. The door opened and a flight attendant asked me to get off the plane. I figured I was on the wrong plane. The gate agent told me to check in at the desk and when I did she told me to call my husband.”

The call was not one that any mother would want to receive. Peggy’s son had fallen into a coma after a severe brain injury. Unable to reach his wife, Peggy’s husband called Southwest Airlines to give them the bad news. The airline quickly jumped into action and had the airplane return to the gate so that Peggy could get on the next flight to Denver, Colorado, where her son was in the hospital.

The customer service representatives didn’t stop there. They immediately booked Peggy on a non-stop flight to Denver free of charge. In addition to the free flight, the company also went above-and-beyond to ensure that the passenger had everything taken care of for her without lifting a finger. The airline had Peggy’s bags transferred to Denver, packed her a lunch for the plane ride, gave her priority seating, and even provided her with a private waiting area to speak with her husband prior to the flight.

BoardingArea notes that Southwest didn’t stop providing service to Peggy after she exited her plane in Denver, either. Peggy says that after arriving in Denver, the airlines had her luggage delivered to where she was staying and also called to check on her son.

“They offered a private waiting area, rerouted my luggage, allowed me to board first, and packed a lunch for when I got off the plane in Denver. My luggage was delivered to where I was staying, and I even received a call from Southwest asking how my son was doing.”

Unfortunately, not all passengers have had the same type of experience as Peggy. The Inquisitr previously reported on a woman who claims that Southwest Airlines would not allow her to make a phone call to her suicidal husband after he sent her a startling text. As a result, the woman returned home to find her husband had killed himself.

What do you think of Southwest’s customer service department?

[Image Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images]