What is the best way to thank a FA?
Short story. My son and I were flying on a short regional jet back home. My wife is the frequent traveler, not us. She decided because I’m relatively tall to use some miles and put us in first class. Love her for so many reasons, and this is but one.
Problem is, we got our tickets super late. About 4 days before travel, so all the seats were taken pretty much throughout. The only seats left there were split. My son is young, and yes, I fully get the whole making people move thing is a massive faux pas. Anyhow, despite knowing I was stepping into jerk mode, we called the diamond line, to no avail. They said check in at the gate, they should be able to help.
I checked with the gate, they said nope, you gotta ask the other passengers. I was fully ready to try, and accept whatever fate had in store (I also helped prep my son that I might be two rows behind him. Not the end of the world by any means and doable on a 1.5 hour flight at his age).
This is where we were rescued. This absolute gem of a FA, upon my ask while boarding second and third, heard me and said, “I got you.” Looked up the manifest, saw the seat in row one was occupied by another solo traveler, and put us together. What every other level of delta couldn’t do (understandably imo given the late booking etc) she got done, in a high pressure situation (she stopped everyone from boarding behind us for a moment) and done in 30 seconds. Honestly it might not have even taken that long.
So, to my title, how do I meaningfully thank her in a way that matters? I was profusely grateful to her, and asked her the same. She was thrilled to hear how happy I was, said that was enough, and offered a high five. Can I do better? I don’t fly nearly enough to know how best to say thanks.