Inspirational social media: the WestJet Christmas miracle

One of my favorite parts of Christmas: seeing houses decorated for the holidays. Image courtesy of Ray Miller, Pixabay.

I’m one of those wacky people who actually doesn’t mind flying too much. Sure, it’s an interesting experience of physical torture (!) to be squashed in a flying aluminum tube, no legroom and a seat that doesn’t come anywhere near comfort for an adult. Ugh.

But to take my mind off the waiting for the flight and the discomfort of the flight, I have several tricks I employ. I’ll wander around the airport prior to departure to check out the shops and any available art. I’ll discreetly watch my fellow passengers and try to pick out who’s going to be sitting next to me, what’s their native country, and whether they’re traveling for business or pleasure. After the flight begins, there’s the reading material that I bring with me, any in-flight movies, listening to music, chatting with my “row mates” if they feel like talking (some great conversations that way) and gazing out the window.

If I’m waiting to pick up somebody from the airport, I’ll use some of the same tricks (shopping, art viewing, etc.) while I wait.  As passengers come through the final set of doors, many of them smile broadly when they recognize a friend or loved one, which is fun to see.

One of the most entertaining flights I ever had was a trip to London via Virgin Airlines. It was my first time on a passenger jet with individual viewing screens built into the rear of the seats, and my row mates and I had great fun playing games and watching movies. The flight seemed to go by in a heartbeat.

Virgin also took the trouble to give each of us a small goodie bag with useful items such as a pen, a mini notepad, a sleeping mask, footie socks and earplugs. I don’t know if Virgin still gives out these bags, but it was a treat and much appreciated by this passenger.

WestJet, a Calgary-based airline, has now upped the game for airlines. I was browsing Twitter and came across this marvelous YouTube video which I just can’t resist sharing with you.  The video features unsuspecting passengers getting a Christmas miracle upon their arrival in Calgary, thanks to St. Nick and some of his helpers. Awww.

It only made its debut two days ago and has already gone viral. I have to say it: Those Canadians have style!

Have fun watching! (Side note: Thank you, Mark Ragan of Ragan Communications for the tweet containing this video.)