The Glasgow woman who organised a whip round for crew on the final flight says it was “a small act of kindness” which was the right way to show their appreciation.
When the captain of the Thomas Cook flight from Las Vegas to Manchester announced that the company had collapsed and cabin crew wouldn’t be paid, hairdresser Ashleigh MacLennan stood up, grabbed two airline pillow cases and began collecting cash.
The 31-year-old from Glasgow explained: “I took two of the Thomas Cook pillow cases and wrote on them, ‘whip round for our amazing crew’. I sent one to the front of the plane and one to the back and everyone happily contributed.”
Ashleigh says emotional crew told them there was “some uncertainty with regards to the airline” when their 13.55 flight to Manchester first took off.
“But then towards the end of the flight the crew updated passengers that Thomas Cook had in fact ceased trading in the early hours of the morning. The captain then came on to thank the crew but explain that they wouldn’t be getting paid.”
Ashleigh says at this point the cabin crew who had looked after them as normal throughout the 10-hour flight were very distressed.
“They were so upset, it was heart-breaking to see,” she said. “That’s when I felt it was only right that we showed our appreciation.”
Fellow passengers agreed and they were soon stuffing notes into Ashleigh's two pillow cases.
“We didn’t count up how much money we’d collected but both pillow cases were full. When I handed them over to the flight manager she was crying and hugged me so tight.”
Ashleigh, who manages Angus Gordon Hairdressing Salon in Perth , had been in Vegas for a week with her family for her brother’s wedding.
She admits they were shocked when they discovered what had happened to Thomas Cook.
“We knew they were in a bit of bother but not to that extent,” she added. “It was awful but when we gave them our collection the crew were all just so grateful and made an emotional thank you to everyone.”
