Interesting what expectations people still have of airlines: the reality is you get what cabin you pay for, unless you have invested in the company in other forms of loyalty... kudos to the AI crew for patiently taking care of the pax in this case ^
As far as IT and AI are concerned, I'm just imagaining how eg AA and US would have handled a similar situation at a similar airport say JFK. Airline rep escorted and paid transportation between terminals? Checkin for intl departure 38 mins before departure?
