For flyers on Southwest Flight #510 from Austin Bergstrom International Airport to Chicago Midway on Thursday, Christmas came a little early.
"As holiday travel tends to be anything but joyful, we were on a mission to #MakeSpiritsBright for a plane full of unsuspecting passengers to lift spirits and share holiday cheer – and MISSION ACCOMPLISHED," said Patti Kelly, public relations director for Austin-based jewelry maker Kendra Scott.
"We kicked it off at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport around 3 p.m. with our CEO and founder Kendra Scott surprising passengers by making the gate announcement as they prepared to board," Kelly recalled. "Every passenger got a swag bag of goodies as they boarded, and a round of free drinks on us!"
Kelly said that upon touching down in Chicago, passengers were given a golden ticket to head to baggage claim for one final surprise.
There, a Santa clad in Kendra Scott yellow was waiting for his “bags,” and as the carousel started to move indicating the arrival of luggage, giant life-size gift boxes came down the baggage claim belt before any passenger luggage arrived; these boxes were full of goodies, including Kendra Scott jewelry, and Santa passed them out to passengers aboard the flight in hopes of putting a smile on faces for the holiday season.
"There was even a group of 25 ladies from Temple, Texas, waiting to board for a girls trip, and about half of them were wearing Kendra Scott jewelry," Kelly said.