Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson has been praised for giving up his seat on a plane so that a mum could get home to her daughter. Picture: Karen Bleier / AFP
Source: AFP

Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson. Picture: Delta Airlines
Source: Supplied

AN AIRLINE boss has given his seat to a tired, stressed mum who needed to get home to her daughter.

Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson was booked on a flight from Washington D.C. to Atlanta on a day where the airline faced numerous delays and cancellations.

Jessie Frank was also trying to get to Atlanta, and had been waiting all day to get on a flight. Ms Frank was desperate to get home to pick up her diabetic daughter from summer camp.

At 9.30pm, she was eighth on the list of standby passengers waiting to fly to Atlanta before the D.C. curfew hit at 10pm.

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Seven names went by. The system showed zero seats left.

Ms Frank was about to give up when the flight attendant from Delta airlines rushed her down the jetway and shook her head.

But then something wonderful happened.

The flight attendant paused, talked to someone and then waved her down to the plane.

“A vaguely familiar face met me at the doorway, not in uniform so probably an off-duty pilot I had seen before. He quickly grabbed my roll-aboard, helped clear a space in the overhead, and showed me to my seat.”

As the flight descended into Atlanta the flight attendant announced that the plane had a special guest on board flying in the jump seat – the spare seat behind the pilots in the cockpit. He was riding in that seat because he had given up his place to allow one more person on the flight.

That man was Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Airlines.

Overwhelmed with emotion Ms Frank took to Facebook to pen an open letter to Mr Anderson.

In it she writes: “You, Richard Anderson, the CEO of Delta, did all that for me, just an average, middle-aged, woman with, as far as anyone at Delta knew, no special reason to get home. But more importantly, it was all of your employees that day that did so much helping me to get home – and now I know why. Because Delta is led by you, Richard Anderson, a dedicated and inspiring leader who so clearly demonstrates, at his very core, that he leads by example, and does not set himself above all those who allow this airline to exist.

“Thank you, Richard Anderson. As a result of your leadership and the actions of yourself and your employees, I had my special day with my special child. You and your employees gave us both one more day of happiness, and for that, we are both very grateful. I have always been a loyal Delta customer, but Thursday solidified that loyalty for life! To all Delta employees who helped me on Thursday: thank you again.”

Delta Airlines have confirmed the incident occurred but have so far declined to comment.

Ms Frank’s letter has since been shared 1697 times. Proof that good customer service may be the best PR of all.

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