When Baby Fusses, Flight Attendant Takes Matter Into Her Own Hands
Flying with a baby can be unpredictable at best, and a nightmare at worst. Southwest flight attendant Anissa Charles recently made Heather Gooch’s first flight with her 9-month-old son Aiden brilliant, by playing with the tot and carrying him around the cabin when he became antsy.
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“Aiden loves attention, and the fact that Anissa spoke to him every time she passed was what started it all,” Gooch tells Yahoo Parenting. Although she had the support of her husband, who was traveling with her on the flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to New York on December 28, Aiden reached the point most young children do when their parents’ laps just don’t provide enough space — especially when lunch is being served.
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Charles took stock of the situation and asked Gooch if she could hold the baby. “He reached his arms out and off he went!” says the mom. “She walked up and down the aisles with him and was waving to everyone and looking at the other babies — he was so excited! It gave us a few minutes to eat our lunch.”
Heather Gooch and Aiden. (Photo: Facebook/Heathafeath84)
Gooch was so impressed by Charles’s gesture that she penned a thank-you note to Aiden’s new friend and posted it on Southwest’s Facebook page. “Anissa went above and beyond to make sure that the trip went as smoothly as possible,” Gooch wrote on December 29. “I have NEVER had a flight attendant as kind and as helpful as she was … I wanted to thank her and let her know how appreciated she is. We so often hear about the negative things going on, so I wanted to share this story of a someone who made my trip a little brighter.”
The mom’s missive earned almost 500,000 likes, 60,000 shares, and 9,000 comments — plus some praise from Southwest. "Her kindness and helpfulness made the Gooch family’s trip brighter, and it’s that type of focus on hospitality that makes the Southwest travel experience an incredible one for so many of our customers,“ rep Sonya Lacore said in a statement.
But the best comment came from Charles herself. "It was truly my pleasure and he made MY day!!” she wrote on Facebook of the experience. “Lol I don’t mind being used by the babies.”
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