What to Know
- A sweet, feel-good Facebook post detailing the seat swap between a man who traded his first-class seat with an 88-year-old retired nurse has prompted Virgin Airlines to spread some holiday cheer
- Virgin Atlantic announced it will upgrade the eldest customers on board their flights over the holiday season to the highest cabin available
- The upgrades will take place from Christmas Eve to Jan. 1, 2020
A sweet, feel-good Facebook post detailing the seat swap between a man who traded his first-class seat with an 88-year-old retired nurse has prompted Virgin Airlines to spread some holiday cheer by offering upgrades to its eldest customers onboard flights this week.
“Virgin Atlantic will be spreading Christmas cheer by upgrading the eldest customers on board our flights over the festive season to the highest cabin available. This is in honour of Jack, one of our customers who recently gave up his Upper Class seat for 88-year-old Violet on a flight home from New York to London,” according to Virgin Atlantic.
In a viral Facebook post earlier this month, a Manchester-based woman took to Facebook to share a heartwarming story about her many travels.
According to Leah Amy, who is part of the cabin crew for Virgin Airlines, she encountered her two favorite passengers ever on a flight from New York to London -- a young man named Jack and an 88-year-old retired nurse named Violet (although she jokingly says she wishes they were named Jack and Rose -- referring to the beloved characters in the blockbuster movie "Titanic").
In her post, Amy recalled that Jack and his family purchased first-class seats on a flight back to the UK from New York. However, Jack spent the flight in economy because he switched seats with Violet who was on her way back home after seeing her daughter.
"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," Amy's post reads in part.
Amy went on to say that Violet's dream "has always been to sit at the front, and Jack made that come true" -- she even asked for a "selfie" to prove to her daughter she was in first-class!
In honor of Amy’s favorite passengers, starting on Christmas Eve and until Jan. 1, 2020, “on behalf of Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic, upgrades will be offered to the eldest customers on board all Virgin Atlantic flights,” Virgin Atlantic said in a statement.
