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A Care Package for A Plane Loving Kiddo

arennie10
Explorer C

After flying on his 3rd and 4th Southwest Airlines flights, my 5 year old has become obsessed with all things Southwest. He talks about our trip, his desire to fly again, his dream of becoming a pilot specifically for Southwest in the future, and absolutely loves watching videos on YouTube related to Southwest planes. He has a favorite video in particular, the painting of the Tennessee One plane. My mom reached out to customer service in an effort to find out the name of the song featured in the video, we hoped we could download it. Not only did Michael answer her question, he also sent my boy a care package with a signed poster of the Tennessee One plane, a lego plane (his other obsession!), and a luggage tag for future flights. The customer service experience is above and beyond! My son has carried his lego plane proudly everywhere we've gone recently and has his poster framed and displayed in a place of presidence in his bedroom. This memory will surely be a vivid one for him and I'm so very grateful! Thank you to everyone who made that care package happen, but especially for making a little boy feel so special! 

6 REPLIES 6

Re: A Care Package for A Plane Loving Kiddo

bec102896
Aviator A

Love reading stories like this! 

 

Thanks for sharing!

Blake 

Re: A Care Package for A Plane Loving Kiddo

elijahbrantley
Aviator A

Maybe we have a future SW employee on our hands.  You story does not surprise me in the least because SW is all about people and #LUV.  Thank you for sharing!

 

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: A Care Package for A Plane Loving Kiddo

dfwskier
Aviator A

Great story.

 

I hope your son attains his dream of becoming a pilot for Southwest and experiences many

Southwest flights before that happens.

 

The story belongs in the Southwest Magazine - IMHO

Re: A Care Package for A Plane Loving Kiddo

SWDigits
Aviator A

@arennie10 has your son ever listed to pilots & air traffic controllers communicate on LiveATC.net?  The web site is free though if I remember correctly the phone app has a nominal charge.

 

https://www.liveatc.net/

 

I listen when I have family members flying and when I have wifi on my flights.  Not all airports are covered but they have coverage all over the world.  During the takeoff portion of the flight I listen for the flight on Clearance Delivery, then follow to Ground, Tower, and Departure.

 

FlightAware provides a map view of the plane's progress throughout the flight, to include position, alititude, and airspeed:

 

https://flightaware.com/

 

Let me know if you want additional references for airport diagrams, departure procedures, or arrival procedures, they are publicly available.


Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: A Care Package for A Plane Loving Kiddo

arennie10
Explorer C

I am certain he would absolutely love listening in on flight communications! His favorite thing to do is to build an airplane with blankets and chairs and then pretend he's the pilot. His commentary changes every time and it's adorable. Thank you for sharing this with me! 

Re: A Care Package for A Plane Loving Kiddo

SWDigits
Aviator A
You're welcome. There are also some great cockpit videos on YouTube, a really good one I just watched is of an Aer Lingus on approach to San Francisco. It provides a good sense of the flight deck activity (checklists, radio communications, and coordination) with great scenery. If there was a good Southwest video like this then I would have referenced that one instead!

Customer | Home airport DCA