Published: 2013 March 08 09:21:41 (3108 Views)

A US man would have missed saying goodbye to his dying mother if it hadn't been for the cooperation and kind hearts of a handful of United Airlines employees.

Kerry Drake booked a flight to Lubbock, Texas, via Houston after his brother told him that their ailing mother didn't have much time left. Drake's January 24 United Airlines flight out of San Francisco experienced delays. He only had 40 minutes to catch his connecting flight to begin with, so a distraught Drake worried that he wouldn't make it in time to catch the final flight of the day to be at his mother's bedside during her final hours.

Drake told CNN that flight attendants brought him napkins to dry his eyes and relayed the information about the next leg of his trip to the captain. The captain then radioed ahead to the crew of the Lubbock-bound plane and explained Drake's situation.

After his plane landed in Houston, Drake got off the airport train and sprinted to his gate. He said that, when he was close, he heard the agent say, "Mr. Drake, we've been expecting you."

The crew had held the flight for him.

Drake made it in time to say goodbye to his mother. Dolores Drake died at the age of 76 during the early-morning hours of January 25.

"(United) went above and beyond,'' Drake told Today.com. "It was a matter of minutes, but it made all the difference in the world. That really blew me away."

He wrote to United to make sure that the flight attendants, pilots, baggage handlers (Drake's luggage had even made it on time!) and gate agents who made this possible received the thanks they deserved.

United spokesman Rahsaan Johnson told The News that Drake's story was published in the employee newsletter.

"We did that as a way of reminding the 85,000 people at United that they are, in fact, empowered the make the right decision," he said.




- NY Daily News

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