I’m driving the free shuttle from the long-term parking lot to the airport terminal. One of my passengers is pacing at the back while talking loudly into his phone.

Customer: *To his phone.* “Tell them to hold the gate. I’m two minutes away. No, tell them to HOLD the plane!”

He hangs up, then yells up toward me.

Customer: “Driver! Can’t this thing go faster? I’m gonna miss my flight!”

Me: “I’m going the speed limit, sir.”

Customer: “This is ridiculous. Every time I fly, something slows me down.”

Me: “Well, this time it’s the law.”

Customer: “You don’t understand, I fly first class!”

Me: “And I drive first… come, first served.”

Related:
A Lack Of Planning On Your Part…, Part 8
A Lack Of Planning On Your Part…, Part 7
A Lack Of Planning On Your Part…, Part 6
A Lack Of Planning On Your Part…, Part 5
A Lack Of Planning On Your Part…, Part 4

I’m at a car rental desk in a busy New York airport. I overhear our brand-new hire dealing with a couple who clearly just stepped off a flight from the UK.

New Hire: “Sorry, I can’t rent you a car. You have to know how to drive to do that.”

The customers look utterly baffled. They’re showing their UK driving licenses as required, so I quickly step in.

Me: “Hi there, I’ll take over from here.”

I check their documents, get them set up, and send them happily on their way in a rental SUV. Once they’re gone, I turn to the new starter.

Me: “What was that about? They had a valid license and everything.”

New Hire: “Yeah, but they’re from Europe.”

Me: “…And?”

New Hire: “Well, they don’t have cars there, right? Everyone takes trains.”

Me: “Well, that might work from town to town, but how do you think they get around town?”

New Hire: “Horse and cart. Because they’re all Amish!”

At this point, I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry.

Me: “…You do realise the Amish are from Pennsylvania?”

New Hire: “Yeah, but that’s why the settlers left Europe. To get away from the Amish.”

All I can do is just stare.

Me: “…We’re going to have a little talk about geography… And history… And reality.”

My flight to London has been cancelled and I’ve been put on a flight leaving the next day. For many reasons, this is unacceptable, and I’ve been arguing with the staff at the information desk to get me on a flight today. I am willing to pay to get on a flight ASAP.

After another round of arguing, I sigh and lean on the counter. From a desk nearby, another worker swivels around. She works for another airline entirely, one I’ve never heard of.

Other Worker: “Hey, sorry, I couldn’t help overhearing. If you really need to get to London today, there’s a seat on a charter flight leaving in two hours.”

My eyes go wide, and I look at the employee of the airline that just cancelled on me.

Me: “Uh… I mean, can I?”

There are hundreds of other angry passengers these people have to deal with, so I think they’re just happy to be rid of me. They quickly speak their ‘airport language’ and figure out that I can be transferred to the charter.

Me: “I’ll take it! What’s the catch?”

Other Worker: “Well… It’s a special flight. It’s a pets-on-board charter. Everyone on board has paid to fly with their dogs or cats. You’d be the only person without one. We only have one seat free near the back.”

Me: “A plane full of dogs? Are… you… kidding?! Yes!”

Two hours later, I’m boarding with about a hundred people and at least as many dogs and cats. The plane is lively but strangely calm.

There’s a golden retriever sitting across the aisle. A cat in a soft carrier sits on the lap of a woman knitting. A corgi is happily being fanned with an in-flight magazine by a passenger.

There are cages lining one half of the flight where the animals need to be placed during the layover and refuelling, but apart from that, the pets are either sitting on blankets at the passenger’s feet (the rows are all quite wide) or on passengers’ laps.

During the flight, a beagle trots over to the back and rests his chin on my knee.

Me: “Hey there, buddy.”

Owner: “He likes to make new friends. You don’t mind?”

Me: “Are you kidding? Best flight ever!”

Later, a flight attendant comes by with a grin.

Flight Attendant: “Bit different from your usual trip?”

Me: “Quietest, nicest flight of my life. You should do this on all flights!”

Flight Attendant: “Honestly? The politest flight I’ve ever worked. No one wants to argue when there’s a Labrador watching.”

Many hours later, we land in London. Not a single outburst, no crying, no fuss, just a cabin full of people gently chatting while cats purr and dogs nap.

Best unexpected flight ever, and considering I had to deal with some unpleasantness in London when I arrived, it was exactly what my mental health needed!

This story is part of our Highest-Voted-Stories-Of-2025 roundup!

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I live quite close to a major airport. My two-and-a-half-year-old son loves watching the planes that fly over every few minutes. One day, I decided to take him to the panorama terrace at the airport. We have a lovely morning and lunch there. But in the afternoon, the little guy gets tired, and it’s time to go home.

He does NOT want to go, so he’s not only tired but grumpy too. Any parent of a toddler knows the situation: it’s tantrum time. I check the train times and realise we can just about make the next train home.

So, there I am: an overweight, bearded dude power walking a screaming toddler across the airport plaza. Of course, I’m going to be stopped by a police officer duo.

Officer: “Is everything all right, sir?”

Me: “Yeah, we’re fine, I’m trying to catch a train.”

Officer: *Gesturing to my son.* “I understand, but real quick: what is he to you?”

Me: “He is my son.”

Officer: “Any way you can prove that?”

Now, in the Netherlands, it’s not mandatory for young children to have a government-issued ID with them, only when going abroad. But my kid is calmed down enough by the imposing two officers in front of us, so I can improvise a bit.

Me: *Pointing at my son.* “Who are you?”

Son: “[His Name].”

Me: *Pointing at myself.* “And who am I?”

Son: “Papa!”

Officer: “All right, have a nice day, sir.”

Me: “Thanks, you too.”

I made that train with seconds to spare.

I used to work at a regional airline. The jet we used for our flight to the “big city” had six business class seats. The business class service was amazing for a two-hour flight: a full bar service, a hot meal, a warmed breadbasket, followed by a dessert and signature coffee trolley. The good old days…

One of our regular travelers was a local business owner who was just… a slimy businessman. He had a reputation for making a lot of money from some pretty shady deals over the years. We would roll our eyes when we saw him coming to the check-in counter because he would always name-drop and ask for special treatment.

He always used the business class check-in line even though he was usually in economy. He didn’t have frequent flyer status, but he was buddies with one of the airline executives and always made sure to tell us that he was good friends with the vice president. He would always ask for free upgrades, extra baggage, no change fees, last-minute discounts, etc. If he didn’t get what he wanted, he immediately called the vice president, who would then call us and approve whatever it was he wanted.

One day, [Slimy Businessman] checks in for his flight to the “big city” and, of course, name-drops and asks for a free upgrade to business class.

Slimy Businessman: “I’m friends with [Vice President] and she said it would be okay to upgrade me.”

He was traveling on a discounted ticket that was not eligible for an upgrade even if he had an upgrade coupon, which he didn’t.

Me: “I’m sorry, but you are not eligible for an upgrade on this ticket.”

I gave him his boarding pass and sent him on his way. Of course, he flips open his cell phone and immediately calls the vice president. Within two minutes, the phone at the check-in desk rings, and it’s the vice president authorizing me to override the policy to upgrade him to business class with no upgrade coupon required—if there is room.

The flight that day wasn’t that busy, and only one person was booked in business class, leaving five open seats. I was really irritated, but I begrudgingly put him on the upgrade list anyway. He returned to the check-in counter, picked up his standby boarding card, and gave me that smug “told you so” look.

But then what the vice president said clicked with me, “if there is room.”

The next passenger I checked in was a super nice lady. Big smile, friendly, “please” and “thank you,” and “oh, thank you so much for checking my bags to my connecting flight, that’s so nice of you.”

Since it wasn’t that busy, we were chatting a bit. She was a teacher going on a trip to see her family. It was her first visit with them in over a year, and she was going to meet her new little nephew for the first time. She was overjoyed just to have the time off to travel.

I typed in a few things into the computer to make it look like I was checking something about her connecting flights, and then said:

Me: “Oh, you have been selected today to receive a free upgrade to business class.”

She was shocked.

Teacher: “I’ve never flown business class in my life! This is so amazing!”

At that time, we were rarely questioned if we upgraded someone without a certificate. Over the next twenty minutes, I found excuses to upgrade four other passengers: one who worked for one of our top corporate accounts, one who was legitimately a frequent flyer, and a few others. By the time I went to board the flight, I had to tell the slimy businessman:

Me: “I’m sorry, but business class is full, and I can’t offer you an upgrade today.”

The teacher I upgraded profusely thanked me again when she boarded with the rest of the business class passengers. Little did she know that it really made my day also!

There were no repercussions to my actions. We rarely upgraded passengers randomly, so it wasn’t something that caught management’s attention, and they mostly trusted our judgment on these things. But like many customer service jobs, if you were nice to us, we would go out of our way to help you. If you were not nice to us, we would apply the rules very strictly.