There’s a video posted by Southwest Airlines (embedded below) that’s about to go viral thanks to the extraordinary effort employees made to turn something terrible into something truly memorable.
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Today was supposed to be Capt. Jon Jackson’s retirement flight with Spirit Airlines. After the airline’s sudden shutdown, he instead found himself heading home as a passenger, seated in the back of a Southwest flight with his son, Chris, a Southwest first officer.
Chris casually mentioned to the flight’s pilots that this would have been his dad’s retirement flight. They seized the opportunity to change the course of the day for Capt. Jackson. They alerted Dylan, a Southwest dispatcher, setting into motion a plan that resulted in a proper retirement celebration when the flight landed in Baltimore. The airport fire and rescue team greeted the aircraft with a traditional water cannon salute (image below), and the ground operations team was waiting at the gate to welcome him with cheers and a bottle of bubbly.
A gate agent announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jon Jackson!” Then she handed him a bottle of champagne as he exited the jet bridge. Everyone was clapping, and he said, “Very overwhelming. I can’t thank you all enough. As Spirit goes down, this is a sad day, and you guys made it incredible. Thank you so much.”
This was a powerful reminder of the aviation community’s ability to show respect, compassion and solidarity when it matters most. Above all, the moment was about honoring a fellow aviator. Congratulations, and thank you for your service in the skies, Capt. Jackson.
I’ve been on retirement flights before, including last summer when I flew from Chicago to Naples, Italy. When my family and I arrived at the gate, there were balloons and a cake. Onboard, there were banners and streamers, along with the pilot’s family since it was his final flight before mandatory retirement at age 65. As we pushed back from the gate, the Chicago Fire Department gave him a water cannon salute, and everyone clapped. It was clearly a proud moment for the captain and his family. What Southwest did today for a pilot from another airline feels even more special given the circumstances, so kudos to them.
The sentiment is the same in the hundreds of comments on Southwest’s Instagram post. Here are some highlights:
@capt_henn320: It’s moments like these that make me so proud to be a part of the Southwest family. This is a class act for an honorable aviator during a proper retirement sendoff. Happy retirement, Capt! 💙❤️💛
@tomperkinscountry: I flew with Jon for years at DHL Airways on the DC-8, and we’ve remained friends over the years. Man, you all absolutely knocked this out of the park. Simply amazed. So classy and professional, going so far above and beyond. Thank you for doing this for him and his son. 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
@michael.saw.it: This is the Southwest Herb and Colleen would hope for, and it is ❤️
@ashonadash: Aww, this speaks volumes. No matter the airlines, we all still love each other. ❤️ Congrats on your retirement 👏🏽
