Always on Time

In these days of constant complaints regarding air delays, I want to tip my hat to UTA, the French airline that I recently flew round trip between San Francisco and Paris. The plane took off and landed exactly on time on all phases of the trip. These nonstop flights were among the very best I’ve had in several dozen trips to Paris over 15 years.

UTA also made my life easier and happier in another way, albeit unwittingly. I arrived at the Gare St. Lazare in Paris on my way to Deauville by train. I was loaded with extremely heavy luggage, only to find no porters to help, a steep flight of stairs to climb--no baggage cart. The train was due to leave in 5 minutes, and I was panicked! And likely to miss the only direct train of the day.

My rescuer was a young black man who spotted the UTA stickers on my bags. He was homesick, and those stickers reminded him of the way back to his country of Zimbabwe. The next thing I knew he was in total charge of my luggage, hurriedly leading me to an off-limits freight elevator. He loaded my bags onto the train in the nick of time. I’m still grateful.

SHARON LAWRENCE

Carmel