Home of the brave

As I sat in DFW waiting for my boarding call from American Airlines, I noticed a young man--kid, really, nearby dressed in full army uniform (sandy-coloured, camouflage wear). It's not something I often see in Canada. Moments later, the P.A. announced "We invite our first-class passengers to board Flight #XXXX".

After a couple of minutes of glancing around taking in the scene while avoiding eye contact with anyone else taking in the scene, the following message came: "We now invite our AAdvantage clients to come forward for boarding as well as any of our military in uniform". At that point, a thought started formulating in my mind. By the time I heard "Passengers with seating in Zone A are now asked to...", the thought was complete:

We greatly respect our brave, patriotic young citizens who put themselves in harm's way risking life and limb so that we can continue to enjoy all the freedoms we hold so dear...but not as much as we respect large sums of money.


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Don't forget to check the oil

If you wondered how bad the economic downturn is for the airline industry, here's a clue. This Air Canada pilot at Toronto's Pearson International Airport was spotted doing a chore normally performed by other staff.