Brighten Your Day

Stranger Buys $749 Plane Ticket For Distraught Father Who's Told His Daughter Can't Fly Free

March 16, 2017

When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world around you.

This woman's act of kindness at the airport left a father speechless after she bought his 2-year-old daughter a $749 plane ticket on Wednesday.

According to a Facebook post by Kevin Leslie, a man was traveling with his young daughter when he was told he had to buy her a plane ticket or she could not board.

"This woman needs to be commended," Leslie wrote. "A gentleman was checking in for his flight when the agent asked how old his daughter was. He said she had recently turned two. The agent then asked if she had a ticket. The man was confused because he was under the impression she could ride for free. (When he booked the ticket, she was one but her birthday was in January.) He was hit with emotion. He mentioned he couldn't afford to rebook this flight or get her the ticket with such short notice. He stepped aside and tried to make a few calls. Hugging his daughter and grabbing his head, you could tell he was heartbroken. This woman next to him at the front counter heard the whole thing. She walked over to him and asked what was wrong. After they talked for a bit they walked up to the counter together.

She pointed back at his daughter and said, 'I wanna buy her ticket.'

The agent said 'You know how much this ticket costs right?'

The woman responded '$700 something?'

'$749' the agent said.

The woman said 'that's fine' and pulled out her credit card."

Several social media users commenting on the photo have confirmed the identity of the woman as Debbie Bolton, the co-Founder and Global Chief Sales officer at Norwex - a firm that sells home cleaning products.

"I was right there and I just said to her, 'God Bless You!' and they printed out the ticket," Leslie continued in the post. "The agent kept talking about her goosebumps while the man hugged the woman and asked for her name to repay her. The woman just kept saying, 'Don't worry about it.' She knew she wanted to help that man and his daughter no matter what the cost. Please share this story because people like this need to be recognized."

Although Bolton planned to stay anonymous and did not buy the ticket to receive attention, after the post went viral on Facebook a number of people left comments that revealed her identity.

Some of her personal friends and coworkers left comments that this is exactly the kind of thing that she would do, and that they are proud to know her.