That’s it; the results are in as my loyal readers have decided …drum roll….wait for it… it’s the “Lost Cat” story that wins the first ever LateDeparture Airport Story of the Year Award. The voting took place over three weeks and was open to all LateDeparture readers. And what a finish it was as counting in the vote went down to the wire, with Jack’s tale winning by just one vote over the story about a plane landing at the wrong airport. They both easily beat the final entry – a story about the rivalry between London’s two major airports – Gatwick and Heathrow.
The winning story of Jack the cat who got lost at JFK Airport in New York (IATA: JFK) was mentioned in three different weekly news articles. It had everything from an emotional plea to find the cat, an apologetic airline when it was found and a very sad ending when the cat had to be put down due to its condition.
You can read the full stories here:
It’s certainly been an amazing race to the finish and I would like to thank all loyal readers for their contribution and of course all the award sponsors for their amazing prizes. Speaking of prizes, the winner of the 1st prize, the two JetBlue return tickets is Abhishek Duggal from Honolulu – congratulations! All other winners have also been notified, so check your inbox to see if you are one of them!
2012 will surely be another interesting airport news year, so make sure you follow us right through it!
Not sure about the sympathetic airline, AA were fairly obstructive when asked for access to look for Jack. He would have been found earlier and would still be alive today if the searchers had had one ounce of so-operation.
I agree with Susan. American Airlines did nothing aside from lip service to help find Jack the Cat and obstructed those who were trying to look for him. To them, Jack was just an unimportant missing piece of baggage. That greatly loved ‘piece of baggage’ suffered fear, starvation, dehydration, and finally death thanks to the indifference of American Airlines. I hope those employees responsible for Jack’s agony (both those who caused him to be lost and those who didn’t care enough to help seriously search for him or let others search for him) are first on the list of American Airline terminations.
Jayne and Susan have it exactly right. The only reason American Airlines started taking action was because of the negative reaction they were receiving because of their inaction. Then they tried to make themselves look like the hero. Poor, sweet, handsome Jack did not have to die.
The only thing one could be happy about is that Jack was found, albeit he fell through the ceiling not really “found.” At least his poor owner didn’t have to wonder where he was and what happened to him. I will never ever ever fly American Airlines; they were obstinate and didn’t really help in finding Jack. They were told by a psychic he was in Terminal 8’s ceiling and they wouldn’t allow anyone to check. My sincerely condolences, once again, to Karen, and bless all the people who did try to find him. Sixty-one days is a long, long time for any being to be lost…….
The only thing one could be happy about is that Jack was found, albeit he fell through the ceiling not really “found.” At least his poor owner didn’t have to wonder where he was and what happened to him. I will never ever ever fly American Airlines; they were obstinate and didn’t really help in finding Jack. They were told by a psychic he was in Terminal 8’s ceiling and they wouldn’t allow anyone to check. My sincerely condolences, once again, to Karen, and bless all the people who did try to find him. Sixty-one days is a long, long time for any being to be lost…….
The only thing good about this story is the impact it will have on airline’s future dealings with companion animals. Perhaps your story and award can be used to change how airlines make their policies and train their staffs. Thank you for bring attention to sweet Jack’s story.
Karma’s a B _ _ _ h and American Airlines has got theirs will the recent bankrupcy filing. If they run their airline like they handle their ‘precious’ cargo, like Jack, no wonder they are in such trouble. I’ll never fly with them that’s for sure!
Never ever flying American Airlines !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who cares about jack the cat. Booted over the rainbow bridge to burn!