Aviation

WestJet employee’s act of kindness Calgary man with dying sister

A WestJet employee is receiving an outpouring of praise after she helped reunite a man with his dying sister.

Kellie Martin took to Facebook last week to commend Susan, a WestJet employee she spoke to over the phone, for her “selfless” actions.

Martin said she had been trying to call the airline for almost ten hours when she finally got in touch with someone. She had called to ask if WestJet had any compassionate discount rates because her friend Judy was terminally ill with cancer — her brother Andrew wanted to fly from Calgary to Ottawa to be with her.

“She said that they didn’t have anything for compassionate flights, it was a bereavement thing that they had and it was a 15 per cent discount but it was seven days before a funeral or seven days after a funeral and I said ‘Well it’s not for a funeral, however it is for a terminally ill person,'” Martin wrote.

She said she further explained the situation, noting she really wanted Andrew to be able to be with his family but he couldn’t afford the expensive ticket price.

“It was killing him not being able to be there with the rest of his siblings,” she said.

Martin told HuffPost Canada that Susan offered her two of her “buddy passes.” They’re vouchers typically given to WestJet employees to share with friends and family, but there’s no restriction on who they can be given to.

The buddy passes reduced the cost of Andrew’s flight from nearly $1,300 to $136 — in other words, he just had to cover the taxes.

It was killing him not being able to be there with the rest of his siblings.Kellie Martin

Martin said Susan’s action brought her to tears.

“She didn’t do it to get any praise or any recognition…she had no idea I was going to write that note.”

She stayed on the line with the WestJet employee and they booked the flight for Andrew.

“I just broke down because I couldn’t even believe that a stranger was going to do that and give us two of her passes,” she said. “She didn’t ask for proof or anything. I could’ve been lying.”

Andrew cried when he heard the news, she said.

“I don’t think he stopped crying….he was just so thankful. He just didn’t think that he would get to be there with his sister,” she said.

Also on HuffPost:

Aviation

Lost Tool Found in Qantas A380 After 34 Flights

An Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation recently revealed that a Qantas A380 operated 34 flights with a 1.25-meter nylon tool lodged in one of its engines.

This turning tool, used during borescope inspections to rotate the intermediate-pressure compressor, was left behind during scheduled maintenance at Los Angeles on December 6, 2023. It remained inside the engine until it was discovered by maintenance staff during a subsequent check at Los Angeles on January 1, 2024.

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The ATSB report highlights two critical lapses. First, maintenance engineers failed to notice the tool during final checks for foreign objects after the borescope inspection. Second, the lost tool procedure was not activated when the tool was identified as missing.

The certifying engineer ultimately cleared the aircraft for service without accounting for the misplaced tool. During the time qantas films the tool was inside, the A380 completed 34 flight cycles, accumulating nearly 294 hours without any noticeable effect on engine performance.

Although the tool was deformed by high-energy airflow within the engine, there was no reported damage to the engine itself. ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell commented.

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“This incident underscores the importance of following established maintenance protocols. Engineers missed the tool during foreign object checks, and the required lost tool procedure wasn’t started after realizing the tool was missing.”

Following the investigation, the airline issued a safety directive, urging all engineering and tool storage teams to adhere strictly to these protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.

A qantas spokesperson stated, “While the tool didn’t impact engine performance, we take this incident very seriously. It is critical to follow the correct lost tool procedures.”