Stranger gives up first-class plane seat to make 88-year-old's 'dream' come true
A lifetime dream of an elderly woman has come true after a chance encounter with a compassionate stranger at an airport.
The 88-year-old lady named Violet had an economy ticket for a seat at the back of a Virgin Atlantic flight to make the eight-hour journey from New York to London earlier in December.
But after boarding, a man named Jack who booked first class tickets for his family, insisted that she instead sit up the front and take his place in comfort and style.
The pair had earlier met and got chatting inside the airport, according to airline staff.
An attendant working on the flight recalled the heart-warming moment Jack approached the woman to trade places with her, and how they had quickly become her “two favourite passengers ever”.
“Jack and his family purchased seats in our upper class cabin for a flight home from New York, but when he got onboard, Jack went and found violet in economy and swapped seats with her,” she wrote in a post to Facebook.
“He then sat on the row of seats directly next to the economy toilets and never made a peep or asked for anything the rest of the flight. No fuss, no attention, literally did it out of the kindness of his own heart, no one asked him too.”
She said Violet had worked as a nurse in both the UK and US, and was flying back to London after visiting her daughter in New York.
“Her dream has always been to sit at the front, and Jack made that come true.”
She said the image of Violet’s face while being tucked into bed after her meal would now be forever etched in her memory.
“She said her daughter won’t believe her, and wanted a ‘selfie’ to prove it, but didn’t have a phone or an email address.”
The attendant said photos of Violet enjoying her five-star experience were printed and sent to her in the mail.
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