The plane bounces and shakes as the passengers’ sleepy heads bounce along as if they are all listening to the same beat. I am somewhere between Houston and Newark, neither being my intended destination but that isn’t the point. The point is – things, as they often do, do not always go according to plans, but when those plans include a very expensive plane ticket and the holiday season things can get ugly.

People bought tickets and showed up, a seemingly novel concept to those who are booking the flights, but not so much to the workers who are left sorting out the overbooked mess. This story, however, is about a specific individual who, while my rerouting was voluntary, deserves some form of acknowledgment for his ability to handle the situation. While boarding passengers can sometimes seem like herding cattle, the cargo is human and the journey intentional.

He ran back and forth from plane to check in trying to sort out the situation in his navy blue suit, picking up the luggage that could no longer fit in the overhead. Rushing back to make announcements in English and Spanish, before he could finally tend to those of us who are in no rush to arrive anywhere. Once all the passengers were set and he was free to step back for a moment to assist us, a relaxed easy-going individual shone through. Conversations in English, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, French and Hebrew in a casual joking manner, not even reaching the breath of other languages he was capable of.

True, the future flight vouchers and seat upgrades were enough to make us more than happy (issued by Continental not him), but the manner in which he handled the situation made me ponder about appreciating the quality of individuals we had before us. I honestly stopped to think how could a man such as this be working at the check in gate and not work at a higher level where his skills could not only be appreciated but also properly used. What could have been a hostile situation, and if you ever traveled during the holidays this is not a gross exaggeration, ended up being an intriguing and light-hearted conversation as if we were all close friends planning a get together (not rerouting flights halfway across the US).

What is the purpose of this, first to give credit where it is due, and for all of that and more thank you Miguel Velasquez. Yet, more than that I feel Continental should be notified when one of their own went above and beyond the call to not only do something right but correct others mistakes. Those who have ever traveled and saw the barrage of abuse these workers receive at no fault of their own, must also push for accountability of the higher-ups to recognize when you should be doing more to ensure you keep quality workers such as Miguel.

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Tags | airlines, airport, continental, continental airlines, George Bush Intercontinental, Miquel Velasquez, people, plane, Travel