While
working a flight to SNA one day, I checked in a rather
nervous unacompanied minor. He was fearful of flying alone,
and his mother and I attempted to calm him down. As luck
would have it, the aircraft at the gate was N871RA, with
Patty Sheehan's signature on the side. How did this help?
The boy's last name was Sheehan.
I took him down the jetbridge,
showed him his name on the side of the airplane, and introduced
him to the flight deck crew and the flight attendants.
I told him, "This is your plane; your name is on it.
It's going to be a wonderful flight!"
The lad took his seat with
a big smile on his face, and thoroughly enjoyed the flight
to Orange County. I know this because the flight attendants
told me about it when they returned to Reno later that
afternoon.
Several months later, the
little boy was travelling to SNA again, and asked, "Can
I fly on my plane again?" Unfortunately "Patty" was
at another gate, but because of his earlier experience,
he was no longer fearful of flying by himself.
