A recent issue of The Arizona Republic carried an article written by Alexis Egeland and Samantha Incorvaia which featured an inconvenienced airline passenger name Elijah Rubin. Mr. Rubin was scheduled to fly from Phoenix to Detroit on Southwest Airlines. He arrived at the airport at 8:00 am and was told that his flight was delayed for four hours. His comment was,

“Things happen.” Four hours later, the passengers boarded the plane only to learn that the flight was cancelled. Mr. Rubin then waited in line for three hours to get his ticket refund and then booked a ticket on American Airlines which cost him $1,200 because was last minute. He then went to Southwest to retrieve his luggage and they couldn’t find it. It’s now 8:00 PM. He stayed at the airport until 2:00 am waiting for his luggage and finally went home. He came back to the airport the next morning and still no luggage. At this point many people would have become irate making themselves and those around them miserable. Mr. Rubin, on the other hand, maintained his composure throughout the entire ordeal. Here’s what he had to say about his experience: “At least this is teaching me patience—that’s a lost art.” What a great example of how to deal with a very trying and inconvenient situation. Traveling would be so much more pleasant if more passengers followed Mr. Rubin’s example.