VIRAL: AIRLINE STAGES MAGNIFICENT ‘CHRISTMAS MIRACLE’ FOR HUNDREDS OF LUCKY PASSENGERS
Rather than bag fees or lost luggage, over 250 airline passengers at airports in Toronto and Hamilton received a “Christmas miracle” from WestJet.
WestJet, an airline based in Calgary (Canada), first set up a virtual Santa who asked various passengers what they wanted for Christmas via a live video feed. “Ho, ho, ho!” Santa belted out.
He would know each passenger’s name after the boarding passes were scanned at the kiosk, enabling him to surprise children and adults alike.
Some asked for toys, others for clothes, while one couple jokingly asked for a really big flat-screen TV. It was all good fun and resulted in some laughs.
And that was it — or so they thought.
While the passengers’ flights were in the air, 175 WestJet volunteers ran out and frantically gathered the list of gifts the people had asked Santa for. As in, all of them.
I read this last night on a newsfeed I enjoy. Read about it… understood it, watched it expecting great things but not expecting to tear up. But I did. Planned magic is still magic.
Talking about giving their customers a story to tell. I wish there was some way to measure the return on this investment. Combine a bit of innovation with the inspiration it provides and I suspect a creative culture minded person might come up with something they could do on a more localized level.
Kirk Out
One guy asked for a big screen and got it. Another asked for underwear and socks and got them. Hmmm…
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