Email to the Airline

So, john left for North Carolina on the 1st. Not my favorite. Saying goodbye was torture. On friday after i got off work we loaded his stuff in the car and drove to Seattle to spend the night there because his flight was so early saturday morning. We checked into the hotel and then went out for dinner. After that we tried to stay up as late as possible to talk and spend time together because we knew once he went through security the next morning at 5 a.m. that was it for 5 months. it would be all phone calls after that. sadly we were asleep before midnight though. we were talking one minute, and seconds later john was snoring. Seriously, we were watching Cast Away on tv and he said something about Tom Hanks being his own dentist with the ice skate, and then he was snoring before Tom even hit the skate with the rock. But i just laughed at him and turned the tv off. So we didn't last the night. the next morning we got up and took the shuttle the hotel offers over the airport. Check in was fast though. Faster then i would have liked. And the line for security was looming in wait for him to go through it. Since he was on orders with the millitary they had to do a special checkin with him so he wouldn't be charged for baggage, and just when she was finishing up putting tags on his bags, she turned to me and asked if i wanted to go to the gate with him. I could hardly hold myself back from jumping in her arms to say thank you! All emotions spilled out of my eyes when she handed me the pass to go through. She gave me a pass to spend 2 more extra hours with my husband, and for that i love the airline. So, this week i felt so moved that i wrote an email to them to tell them thank you, and this is what i said:

My husband is enlisted with the US Coast Guard
and is on orders now to attend a school they have
in Elizabeth City, NC for the next 5 months.My
husband and i have only been married 7 months as
of this weekend. With his service in the Coast
Guard over the coarse of the 6 months of our
engagement we only saw each other twice, and then
after we did get married and back from the
honeymoon we were separated again for a whole
month until we could be stationed to an airbase
together. Our time together has been precious and
a blessing, and we haven't taken it for granted.
I love my husband very much, more then i will be
able to express to him in this lifetime, and being
away from him again has not been something i have
looked forward to. This past weekend my husband
traveled with your airline on orders from the
US Coast Guard to this school and i was the one to
take him to the airport in Seattle so I could say
goodbye to him there. With the change in
regulations after 9/11, I knew I would be saying
goodbye to him before he went through security and
I wasn't too thrilled for that time to come, but
while we were getting his baggage checked your
ticket agent asked if I would like to go to the
gate with him. I don't know if it was the
depressed look on my face, or if its a general
practice you have, but it was like hearing a voice
from heaven. An absolute blessing. The floodgates
i had so desperately tried to keep up that morning
couldn't hold back my emotions any longer. She
checked my ID and gave me a security checkpoint
pass, and i was barely able to squeak out a "Thank
You!" without sobbing all over her. It was a
surreal experience and blessing to be able to
spend an extra 2 hours with him at the gate before
he left on his flight. I can't thank you enough
for that.
*I think the airline industries' respect and
treatment of our countries armed forces and their
families is applaudable from everything i have
witnessed over the last few years. No baggage fees,
discounts inside airport businesses, and free
headphones to men in uniform on flights with
various airlines. I've seen many things, all given
without asking for anything more then the service
they are already giving to our country. I know
none of these things are a general public
knowledge, but still, THANK YOU!
*With our budget i'm almost sure that i won't be
able to see my husband John until he completes
his training in 5 months and returns home. I know
there are other wives and husbands or parents and
loved ones of military men and women that go a lot
longer then that without seeing their loved ones,
but as a wife, I want to thank you from the bottom
of my heart for that extra time i was given with
him, even if it was only a few hours. I needed
it, and i love you for it.
*Again, thank you, thank you, and thank you!!
**With sincerest gratitude,
**Cassie Hurst

The next monring, i received a response from them:

Dear Mrs. Hurst,

I appreciate your e-mail to United Airlines
Customer Relations.

Mrs. Hurst, I'm delighted with your positive
reaction to our service. Your kind message is
both appreciated and meaningful to all of us here
at United.  We always try to provide efficient
customer service to all our customers and we are
pleased to know that United could be of assistance
to you as a result of which you were able to
spend some more precious moments with your husband
at the airport.  Please be assured that your
positive comments will be shared with the
management here at our headquarters as well as the
airport management team.  They will be ecstatic
to read such a positive reaction to our service.

We hope you have a happy married life and we look
forward to delivering quality service to you and
your husband when both of you travel with us to
different destinations around the world.

Regards,

Anish Chandran
United Airlines Customer Relations


I just wanted to share that with someone, i don't know why. But it really was a great experience and blessing
to have so i am grateful. After he got on his flight i went back through the airport and back to the hotel to my
room to take a bath and cry some more. The rest of the day wasn't that amazing. I got a stupid call from rude
verizon (that i hate), and then i couldn't get any more sleep before checkout

i'm staying busy with work and young womens and church stuff this week, but i think it sucks to not have him for 5 months.