I’d like to wish each of you a happy and memorable holiday season. May it be all that you hope and bring a few pleasant surprises, as well. If you are working, away from your loved ones on holidays, your colleagues, your company and the traveling public thank you, though they may not have the opportunity to say it to you personally. Our editor recently told me the story of a time she was flying back from Paris on Christmas Day. Days before, at a holiday dinner party, she had been given a delicate yet inexpensive ornament as a remembrance, but she doubted it would ever make it home in one piece. When she arrived at the gate, she gave the ornament to a young woman assigned to the flight along with her expressed appreciation for the sacrifice the young woman was surely making working on Christmas Day. The gate agent seemed touched by the token and offered her thanks with a smile, a tiny tear and then an appreciative hug. As she boarded, our editor received another expression of thanks – a wink and an upgrade to first class for the long flight from CDG to JFK. On the flight deck, I think we miss a lot of the human moments that touch our customer service colleagues every day. But, we do always try to gift our passengers with a safe, pleasant flight and a smooth landing.
We have some history for you this month, as we observe 115 years of aviation. (Thank you Messrs. Wright!) I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy the nostalgia and good advice in these pages. Of course, the Grids are awaiting your attention if you’re looking for a career move. Until next year, I wish you joy in all you do and always …
Fly safe,
Craig Pieper
