I was saddened to hear of the shortcomings and irresponsibility attributed to Boutique Airlines in a letter to the editor (“It’s time for Cortez to get a real airline,” Aug. 22).
I understand how difficult it can be to make contact and get something accomplished through its communication system. Nevertheless, Boutique did right by me and I would like to share that experience.
Last winter, my flight from Denver was redirected to Farmington because of blizzard conditions at Cortez. I was the only passenger who did not have a ride home that night and it was getting late. The pilot and co-pilot made numerous calls on my behalf to find a solution to my dilemma and eventually reached a supervisor who agreed that Boutique would cover most of the cost of a motel room for me that night as well as other expenses as a result of the airline’s failure to get me to my destination.
When I finally got back home, I submitted my expenses to the airline and have to admit I was feeling frustrated by their non-response. After three more tries, I finally got through to the actual administrative assistant who could help me. She told me my earlier submissions had gone into her spam/junk file (?) where they languished unnoticed.
After submitting my request for expenses to her supervisor, he immediately contacted me (via email) with a big apology for the delay and then not only covered all my expenses including gas for the drive home, he gave me two complimentary tickets (round-trip) to use within a year.
Again, kudos to the pilot and copilot that night who took the time and energy after a very frustrating and exhausting day to help a stranded passenger.
I doubt that I would have had that kind of personal interest from a larger, more “efficient” airline.
Anne Daugherty
Dolores