Airlines get a bad rap. People are always complaining about flights being canceled or gate agents saying their carry-on bags are too big (ummm, more than once!), or that there’s no more room in the overhead (and then they break something in the bag they made them check), or….oh, wait. Those are OUR complaints about airlines. But you know all that and more has happened with just about every airline out there, time and time again. So when airlines do something nice for people, it doesn’t necessarily give us warm fuzzies, but at least gets rid of some of the sharper icicles for a few hours. Stuff like this…
Aer Lingus
In 2016, the Irish airline surprised three people by bringing them back from around the world, allowing them to visit with family members they hadn’t seen in years.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Christmas is all about bringing people together and in 2016, KLM did just that. They set up a unique installation with chairs on the ground and a buffet table high above. Once enough people were seated, the table with a Christmas feast was lowered into position.
Air Canada
In 2014, Air Canada crew members arrived at a Canadian pub in London to hand out tickets to those who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to make it home for Christmas.
Alaska Airlines
For the past several years, passengers who were wearing ugly Christmas sweaters on December 21 (well, Dec. 20th in 2019, so it wasn’t on a weekend) were allowed to board early in honor of National Ugly Holiday Sweater day.
Eurowings
Not to be outdone, in 2018, German low-cost airline Eurowings gave a “festive” Eurowings Christmas sweater to passengers on flight #9580 from Düsseldorf to Palma de Mallorca. Passengers were also served hot cocoa and mulled wine, while they were entertained with Christmas carols. Best of all, each passenger was given a €150 flight voucher.
Virgin Australia
Because of the time change, passengers that board the Virgin Atlantic flight from LAX to Australia on Christmas Eve actually skip Christmas Day – when they land, it’s already December 26th. Deciding that no one should miss Christmas, in 2016 they decorated the planes with tinsel and Christmas trees, all passengers enjoyed a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and as the lights went dim, Santa Claus (sorry, “St. Nick” – that’s what they call him in Australia) showed up and gave gifts to everyone on the plane!
JetBlue
For 2018, JetBlue offered a Go Get Gifted contest:
We are turning five lucky winners into literal presents by gift-wrapping them from head to toe and taking them right to their destination. Enter for the opportunity to win a round trip flight home (leaving December 24, 2018) and surprise whoever you choose with the perfect gift – you.
The winner would even get to choose how they would be wrapped!
Luton Airport & EasyJet
Hundreds of people at London Luton Airport were treated to a spectacular festive surprise in 2018, as they witnessed the world’s first Christmas light show to feature a 120ft aircraft. EasyJet provided an A320 Airbus to airport ground staff who created the spectacular festive experience by wrapping the aircraft with Christmas lights. A team of ten special effects artists and lighting designers spent four weeks designing and creating over 850,000 choreographed light sequences using 1.5 miles of LED microbulbs.
Here’s what the final product looked like:
And here’s the “making of” video:
Delta
For years, Delta Air Lines and Los Angeles World Airports co-hosted “Holiday in the Hangar,” a special holiday celebration for 150 kids from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The event occurred at Los Angeles Fire Department Station 80 at LAX. The plane never took off but they revved the engine and make the plane shake so it felt like they were flying. As they “approached” the North Pole, they cooled the cabin down. Upon “landing,” they were treated to a holiday party, complete with Mr. and Mrs. Claus and gifts.
By 2024, the event had changed a bit, but was still cool – Delta partnered with the Seattle Seahawks to host a party for South Seattle’s YMCA.
United
For about 40 years, United has teamed up with local facilities so sick, impoverished and/or special needs kids can take a “Fantasy Flight” to Santa Claus’ house at the North Pole. Here’s one of their events from 2019:
WestJet
WestJet has been running its “Christmas Miracle” campaign since 2012. Every year they do something different to spread some holiday cheer.
2012 – The Flash Mob
2013 – Real-Time Giving
2014 – Spirit of Giving
2015 – 12,000 Mini Miracles
2016 – Fort McMurray Strong
2017 – 12 Flights of Christmas
2018 – Uniting Through Traditions
There are actually 25 videos, “Advent style,” for the 25 WestJet Miracles they did in 2018. I’m not going to post them all here (you’re welcome). But you can click here to see as many of them as you’d like.
2019 – To Give or Receive
2020 – The Season to Give
2021 – A Wish Come True
2022 Miracle Miles
2023 Connecting Holiday Heroes
2024 Parents’ Wish List
Pretty cool, huh? Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
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