My six-and-a-half-year-old daughter took her first flight when she was three months old. Most of her flying has been aboard Delta Air Lines and Delta Connection planes, with a few Southwest trips sprinkled here and there, and a couple of Hawaiian Airlines short hops.
She’s a die-hard Delta fangirl and couldn’t care less about the airline’s changes to the Medallion program. My wife and I hear about when our family travels don’t involve Delta. She loves spotting Delta planes (or aircraft that look like them) whenever we’re outside and going, “Dad! Look! Delta!”
She really got a treat when we flew home the other night from San Francisco International Airport (SFO). And this came on the tail-end of the trip that started with her hanging out in the captain’s seat.
Soon after we entered the SFO Delta Sky Club, a wonderful employee approached us and asked if our daughter would like a Delta safety mini-vest, a pair of imitation light-up marshalling wands that wing walkers use, and a kiddie passport.
My kiddo was in heaven.
She put that vest on around 6:30 PM and didn’t take it off until she crawled into bed after midnight. She refused to wear a jacket in the airports because she wanted “everyone to see that I’m Delta!” My daughter was so excited and happy to show off her love for Delta. (I’m genuinely surprised she didn’t wear it to school yesterday.)
As we boarded our flight home, she spotted a ramp agent wearing his safety vest on the jetbridge. She smiled then pointed and waved to him. He did the same. It was like she was part of the team. Our flight attendants apparently hadn’t yet seen the mini-vests; they said something like, “Look at that little vest — and it says ‘Delta’!”
I will say this: we had to take control of the wands. They light up and flash. No one older than a child wants that — especially during a night flight. (“But I’m trying to help the workers show the plane where to go!” she pleaded.)
While we were still in the Sky Club, my daughter turned to me and said, “Dad, you’re going to blog about this, right?” I smiled and nodded. “Good,” she said, adding with a smile, “because you better.”
She might need to work on her customer service skills.
Final Approach
My daughter is a big-time Delta enthusiast. We visited the SFO Sky Club a few days ago — and they handed out special Delta-themed gifts to kids. She absolutely loved the presents it only solidified her love for Delta.
We criticize Delta when it’s due and earned. But we also praise them when it’s due and earned. This is one of the latter. Thanks to Delta for making my daughter so happy — which made my wife and me happy, too.
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That’s awesome she is loving Delta. I was the same when I was her age back in the 1990s. Back then Delta had a mascot called Dusty that targeted kids. In the plane there was even a soda drink called pawberry punch for kids! It was amazing!!!! I wish Delta continued Dusty.
Great story and a wonderful job by Delta. My son (he’s 28 now) was the type of kid that would have loved this and he definitely would have worn the vest to school the next day!
This is the type of thing that build loyalty for years if not a lifetime.
Now…about those Sky Club changes…
So kool. My grandsons would love this. Especially the lite sticks! They are 7,5,5 and 3. A light battle would take place !!
I flew a Delta flight (well SkyWest ERJ) full of Children on Black Friday and it made me happy when one of the flight attendants came around after boarding and offered each and every kid a pair of wings. I remember getting those as a kid in the 90s plus the less nice sticker, not pin based ones.
Oh to be young again and not care about getting to be Diamond Medallion!
Our daughter’s first air trip was on our way back from our year from Israel after my wife and I were married. I used BA points to book Concorde between NYC and LHR and first class between LHR and TLV. So my daughter got to experience Concorde when she was 4 months old!