When you hear stories about gate agents, let’s face it; they’re usually not good ones. They’re usually more along the lines of gate agents telling passengers their carry-on bag is too big and has to be checked, that a passenger’s pillow counts as a carry-on, or hey, remember that gate agent who was caught stealing stuff out of a passenger’s misplaced personal bag?
Of course, there was this gate agent who seemed to be a whole lot of fun and we wonder what happened to him after the airline went bye-bye. But now there’s another gate agent – a Delta Air Lines employee who, I think, should get their wings in heaven. Or at least a big, fat raise!
We don’t know the person’s name. What we do know is that she works out of St. Louis and has dark hair and glasses. She might be of Asian heritage. According to a passenger on a recent flight from STL to ATL, since the Boeing 737-900 was not very full, she rearranged most passengers so that they had either an aisle or a window seat. With rare exception (assumed couples), there was an empty middle seat between them.
“Not a very full flight this morning, so the GA [gate agent] rearranged seating to try and make sure everyone had an empty middle seat,” the person wrote on a website’s Delta forum. They included an image of the seating chart, with most rows having an empty middle seat. You can see the photo here.
A few respondents compared the gesture to the days during COVID-19 when airlines kept the middle seats open in the name of social distancing.
One person mused, “It’s like early in the pandemic when airlines limited capacity to 70% to keep the middle seat open!”
Another said, “This looks like a seating chart from 2020! Great job by the GA.”
Others just admired how thoughtful the gate attendant was.
“There ARE heroes among us,” said one.
“Wow, she’s the GOAT for this.” said another.
One thoughtful person in the thread reminded people to let Delta know about this star employee: “I hope you put staff kudos into the official Delta system for them! https://www.delta.com/us/en/need-help/overview?commentComplaintsForm”
One person said it best: “This is how you win customers for life. It costs nothing and leaves a lasting impression.”It directly aligned with what a Delta spokesperson said about the incident. “While this instance is rare, Delta people are empowered to make extra touches when circumstances allow so our customers have an elevated experience.”
How about you?
Have you ever had a flight where the gate agent did that extra step to make your flight that much better?
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.