Jet2 has confirmed they will send a goodie pack to Phoenix Rose, 8, and his father James, who helped calm a disruptive passenger on a Manchester-bound flight from Izmir, Turkey
An airline has promised to reward an eight-year-old boy after his quick-thinking helped avert a flight diversion. Jet2 confirmed they will be sending Phoenix Rose a goodie pack and treating him and his dad to free flights after they managed to calm a disruptive passenger on a service from Izmir, Turkey, heading for Manchester last Friday (April 24).
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “The vast majority of customers have a brilliant experience when they fly with us, however our highly-trained crew are always there to look after everyone, as well as provide our friendly in-flight service.
“We have heard about how James and Phoenix reassured a fellow customer and we would like to congratulate and thank them for their kindness and care.”
“We are arranging for a goodie pack to be sent to them, alongside a voucher for a pair of free flights, in recognition of what they did.”
Phoenix and his dad, James Rose from Salford, Manchester were the mystery passengers who intervened during the mid-air incident, with James maintaining at the time: “I’m not the hero… it was me lad.”
James recounted how his young son took charge of the situation when a passenger became violent and abusive.
“The way he handled the situation, he calmed her down,” James said. “He was absolutely fantastic, he took over. He was saying to her ‘don’t shout, don’t swear… what do your kids do?’. Every time she tried to go off he would tap her and say ‘come on, talk to me’. It was just magnificent to see.”
Responding to the airline’s gesture, James said the family hadn’t anticipated any reward.
“We weren’t expecting anything because if people do good deeds and expect a reward it’s not really a good deed is it?” he said. “From our perspective me and Phoenix did what we did without the intention of anything.
“It wasn’t needed at the end of the day, it’s a lovely reward for little Phoenix, I think it’s absolutely brilliant. We are really happy as a family.”
He disclosed that Phoenix had already picked out a destination.
“Phoenix said Mexico but I had to tell him I don’t think Jet2 flies to Mexico. I think we are going to use the flights to go to Egypt,” he said.
James also outlined how his son has responded to the surge of public backing since the story broke.
“We sat him down and went through the response to the articles and the feedback from it, he couldn’t believe it,” he said. “He said ‘what, all that for me?’ and I said ‘yeah it’s all for you son.'”
Despite the spotlight, Phoenix has carried on with his usual schedule.
“He’s just gone to school as normal, it has not phased him,” James said. James revealed that his son remained modest about his actions and became quite emotional following the response and support he had received “just for helping a lady”. He further mentioned that Phoenix’s confidence, often displayed on his YouTube channel where he shares his football skills, is something his dad believes has helped him feel comfortable to step up in situations like these.
“He said ‘but I’d just do it again, it’s just normal, we help people don’t we.'”
Labeling him as a “little superstar”, James stated that the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Social media can sometimes have a very bad reputation but what this shows is there are people who do nice things for no reward and people can see that,” he said. “I’d just like to thank everyone for their comments about Phoenix, for just being nice.”