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I boarded my last flight for this year last Friday, from Toronto to Vancouver (Air Canada). While the flight was enjoyable – peppered with episodes of Big Bang Theory – it was the airport experience that left an impact. Which is a rarity for someone who travels as much as me.
As I approached the boarding gate about 30 mins before the flight departure, I heard someone singing Christmas Carols. I thought that was a nice touch – until I turned around to see that one of the Carolers was holding up a board that said “Happy Holidays Shashank!”
It was a KLM Surprise-like moment… I didn’t know how to react. By then she had caught me looking embarrassed and was pointing at me to come stand next to her as she and her friends sang “Jingle Bells”. While I passed on that, I did have the presence of mind to quickly pull out my camera and quickly film them! Here’s what I got (click here if you can’t view the video below).
Delighting travelers in the holiday season
I learnt about the initiative the day before I was supposed to fly, through a report in Toronto Star, and then during SimpliFlying’s strategy sessions with GTAA’s commercial teams. So I was secretly hoping that I’d get to at least film it in action. Basically, anyone can tweet to @TorontoPearson about a friend or a relative they’d like to surprise while at the airport, and a X’mas carol would be sung for them. Sweet, ain’t it?
This follows well into the trend we had spotted at airports earlier this year – don’t be surprised if you’re surprised. Moreover, Toronto Pearson airport also has a booth set up by Microsoft near the gates where you can take holiday photos with Mrs Klaus and elfs (which I did too!)
Thanks for bringing holiday cheer to weary travelers Pearson!
[photomosaic]
Full Disclosure: Toronto Pearson Airport (GTAA) is a SimpliFlying client. While we’re helping them with their customer engagement strategy, this was an initiative planned and executed with their digital agency, Juniper Park.