Well here’s something you don’t often see, which deserves calling out…
A United captain’s compassionate LinkedIn post
United Airlines Boeing 787 captain Luis Perez took to LinkedIn, to write about the passengers he had to leave behind on a recent flight from Newark (EWR) to Lisbon (LIS). Let me just share the post in its entirety, because it’s short and sweet:
I want to say I am sorry to the passengers we left behind last night (October 12th) on United Flight 64 from Newark to Lisbon.
Our team had delayed the departure by six minutes to wait for late connecting passengers. Once everyone had boarded, the gate agent closed the flight, pulled the jetway, and we completed our final checklists in preparation for pushback.
Just as we were ready to go, the tug driver asked if we could take two additional bags that had just arrived from the late connection. We agreed, and the ramp crew quickly loaded them into the aft cargo compartment.
While that was happening, we noticed three people waving from the windows in the boarding area. At first, we thought they were pointing at the jetway — but we soon realized they were trying to get our attention, hoping to still make the flight.
It broke my heart to see them there, pleading to come aboard. Unfortunately, at that point, the flight was officially closed. The jetway had been disconnected, the gate agent had left, and the weight and balance had already been completed.
Reconnecting everything would have required reversing multiple safety and operational steps, causing a long delay for other passengers making onward connections.
Still, the sight of those passengers stayed with me.
It was a powerful reminder that behind every procedure and checklist, there are real people — with hopes, plans, and stories.
To those travelers: if you ever read this, please know that we saw you, we felt for you, and we truly wished we could have brought you with us.
We need more of this in the airline industry
The airline industry is an incredibly complex business, and there are so many operational complications that can impact the perception that people have of an experience.
All too often, the one thing missing for passengers is empathy. People just want to feel understood and heard, and like someone cares. So it’s lovely to see a pilot who can put themselves in someone else’s shoes, and show this level of caring.
Pilots aren’t just “heavy machine operators,” but they’re transporting a countless number of people through their best and worst times.
Obviously the captain made the right choice. If they had reopened the door for three passengers, there could’ve then been dozens of passengers who ended up misconnecting on the other end, and had their plans ruined. United does a great job with its ConnectionSaver technology, which determines the optimal amount of time to wait for passengers.
Of course pilots also aren’t really “frontline” employees, so they don’t deal with a majority of the direct frustration of passengers. So I get how so many gate agents are sort of desensitized to passengers who may be having a really hard time. But a little bit of kindness and compassion also goes a long way.
Bottom line
A United Airlines captain posted on LinkedIn about his sadness with having to leave three travelers behind on a recent transatlantic flight. While he said there’s nothing he could’ve done differently without then inconveniencing other passengers with connections, it’s so nice to see a pilot showing such care for others. Kudos to captain Perez!
Anyone else love this message from a pilot as much as I do?