Thursday, January 10, 2008

ESCORTS

This post is probably not exactly what you would expect according to its' title. But it is nevertheless appropriate.

My Sisters and I have had the pleasure of our Mother's company for the last month. This morning, we saw her off to her return home. Mother is 80 years old and not as spry as she used to be so we arranged for assistance at the airport.

As we were checking her in, we were informed by the Skycap that we could obtain "Escort" passes. This would allow us to accompany her to her gate! We only had to present her boarding pass and ID to an airline representative, along with our own ID. This was a breath of fresh air for us, as we were dreading the moment that we would have to leave her in the hands of a stranger.

We proceeded through security and to her gate with no problem and stayed with her until boarding time. We were under the assumption that a rep would take her to the plane, but (much to our surprise) we were allowed to actually escort her to her seat on the flight! We were ecstatic and so was she. She had her hatbox as one of her carryon pieces, and is quite reluctant to let anyone handle it, so she was happy that we were there to get it situated in the overhead storage.

We secured her seatbelt, gave hugs and kisses and was on our way. The really good thing is that not one of us shed tears. I think it was all because we were so grateful to have been escorts.

This gives a whole NEW meaning to the word!

7 comments:

Edward Padgett said...

I'm happy you mentioned this, we could certainly use positive news regarding airports and security.

Edward Padgett said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kanani said...

I had no idea you could do this! It's really good news for people who have elderly or children traveling. I've always wondered about who would really escort and stay with them --especially since you have to check in 2 hours early! It's an awful long time to leave someone in a stranger's care.

Nubia said...

Kanani,

That's the whole gist of the post. Like you, my Sisters and I had no idea that this was possible.

I'm not sure if ALL airports offer the service, but ONTARIO certainly does. It was the most pleasant surprise that I've had in YEARS!

I give KUDOS to the Skycap that offered the suggestion! And, trust me, I tipped him quite nicely:-)

Hope all is well with you. Can't wait to get together.

rek said...

It depends on the airport and wehat TSA has to say for days terror reports.I been doing this for many years.

Nubia said...

I agree rek. But regardless, it was a pleasant experience.

It COULD be a sign that things are getting better. I'd like to think so.

Nubia

Kanani said...

I have to say that last month when we went through LAX, the TSA couldn't have been nicer.

It's like they've finally figured out their job, but they were really helpful and not like how it was in the past when it was all unorganized and they screamed at everyone.