Southwest Airlines Pilot Surprises His Millionth Passenger With Champagne and Pays for Her Flight

Southwest Airlines pilot Captain John Charles Ritchie did a great deed by surprising his millionth passenger with champagne, making an announcement over the intercom, and giving her money out of his own pocket to pay for her flight. Flight attendant Jennifer Todd captured footage of the awesome event and shared it on Facebook.

I was scheduled to fly DEN to PIT this Sat, my Capt arrives and tells me in the past 21 years he’s worked here at SWA, he’s kept track of all the passengers he’s transported and turns out his 1 MILLIONTH (!!!!) passenger is on this flight. He arranged to have champagne, planned on making an announcement, and found out exactly who his 1 millionth passenger was and then if that wasn’t enough, he figured out exactly how much she paid for her ticket….put that much (out of his OWN pocket!) in an envelope and presented it to her. I am so incredibly proud and humbled to be able to “work” for this amazing LUVing airline. Captain John Charles Ritchie, you, sir, are the epitome of everything Southwest stands for and continues to even though we’ve grown so incredibly much over these past 45 (+) years. Without a heart, it’s just a machine!!

Southwest Airlines shared a photo of Captain John Charles Ritchie with his millionth customer.