Southwest Airlines Took Extraordinary Measures to Help a Mother in Crisis

Peggy Uhle was on a flight preparing to take off from Chicago to Columbus, Ohio, when the Southwest Airlines plane she was on suddenly returned to the gate.

Uhle was then escorted off the plane and told to call home immediately, WGN reported. Her 24-year-old son had suffered a traumatic brain injury and was in a coma in Denver.

A Southwest Airlines customer service representative met her at the gate, where Uhle was informed that the airline had already re-booked her on a nonstop flight to Denver. They’d also arranged a luggage transfer and delivery service, a private waiting area for her, priority boarding and a meal, Boarding Area, a travel blog, reported.

Within two hours, Uhle was on her way to be with her family. An airline representative even called a few days later to check on her and ask about her son.

“We’re certainly proud of, but not surprised by, any of the hard work that went into doing the right thing for Ms. Uhle and her family,” Southwest spokesperson Thais Hanson told WGN News. “Employees are empowered at Southwest to go above and beyond the call of duty and follow their hearts to make decisions that positively impact our customers.”

Uhle’s son is still recovering, but she has a lot of positive things to say about the way Southwest Airlines treated her.

“Southwest never asked for payment for the Denver flight, luggage delivery or anything else,” she told Boarding Area. “The care that I was shown is second to none. We have always liked Southwest Airlines and now we can’t say enough good things about them.”

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