Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.
It happens so rarely that, when it does occur, my eyes open wide and water.
Here I sit, then, goggle- and teary-eyed as I relay a kind gesture coming from an airline.
I know. You almost feel you should stand to attention to hear this. Or lie down, perhaps.
But Delta Air Lines has decided that you, the flyers, have suffered enough.
It’s time to give you at least a gesture of goodwill and respect.
So the airline has decided to offer passengers a free glass of Prosecco. Yes, coach passengers. Those of you stuck in tight seats with your legs just beneath your chins.
No, it’s not a free ticket or an automatic upgrade.
But it’s a little bubble of goodness in an air of despair.
The airline was almost giddy in its announcement. “Free sparkling wine now in Main Cabin on international flights,” it crowed.
It even went far beyond its destination of good cheer when it declared: “Every flight can now be a special occasion.”
No flight that has five crying babies on board, arrives two hours late or is crammed full of people on their laptops elbowing each other can be termed a special occasion.
Still, this is something.
Then again, you’ll have already noticed that domestic passengers haven’t been invited to this special occasion.
They must suffer and dream about what their international counterparts are experiencing.
Even so, a tiny gesture such as this suggests that at least some airlines are beginning to realize that tiny gestures can make a lot of difference.
Think of it at the most basic human level.
It’s often the tiny gestures that make us like — or not like — another person.
We pay attention to whether they come to our house for dinner and bring a bottle of wine — or not.
We notice when people remember our names, having met us only once before.
We care when an airline doesn’t call the police to drag us off a flight because we don’t feel like getting bumped once we’ve taken our seats.
Please, therefore, salute Delta and its good intentions.
Let’s hope that airline executives sit in their First Class cabins, as they’re flying off to their homes on island golf resorts, and muse: “You know, why don’t we make coach passengers feel at least one-tenth this good?”
I live to dream. I dream to live.