I was on a flight from MSY to HOU this evening, and a fellow passenger realized he had left his iPad at the TSA checkpoint. He asked a flight attendant if he could retrieve it, but she informed him that FAA policy is once a passenger gets off, they cannot reboard, but she would see what she could do. The first officer either told the gate attendant (sorry that I didn’t catch his name!) or was able to sprint down the terminal, retrieve the iPad and present it to the passenger who was so relieved. The crew had to hurry and give the safety speech and get in place for the flight, so they didn’t get to hear the thank you for the passenger who said “and that is why I fly this airline. They rock.”
this type of thing cannot happen every time, but I love the fact that SWA gives their employees the ability to make things special for passengers when they can.
