What’s the ‘best flight ever’ like?

What if you could wave a magic wand and conjure up “The Greatest Flight Ever”?

A flight where everyone is excited to see you and cheer on your arrival. There’s red carpet, colorful balloon arches, lots of friendly faces ready to help, free and unlimited snacks, dancing and face painting at the gate and even free hot food on board .

But that’s just the beginning. What if that flight also fires a water cannon salute during takeoff and landing? Perhaps there’s even a stage performer and published author on board to keep you entertained with fun singing and reading.

This wasn’t a dream – it actually happened on April 12 on a departing American Airlines flight. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with 26 Make-A-Wish children and their families on board. And The Greatest Flight is just the beginning of their journey..

Best flight ever philanthropic efforts from The Points Guy, American Airlines and Make-A-Wish to create a magical, once-in-a-lifetime vacation experience for 26 children diagnosed with a terminal illness and their families.

use travel as a force for good is one of the most important things TPG does and is something that Brian Kelly, the founder of TPG, will always keep in mind.

Kelly served as a “fun flight attendant” on Best Flight Ever, but TPG’s involvement with Make-A-Wish dates back to 2017, when TPG hosted a mileage driving program for regular customers and helped Make-A-Wish add more than 1 million miles.

That may sound like a lot, but 75% of Make-A-Wish wishes involve travel. It’s often the biggest expense Make-A-Wish covers for families, and those miles go a long way in helping to fulfill children’s wishes.

“It’s a huge cost to them and it opens up life-changing experiences for these kids,” Kelly said. “These trips are often the culmination of years of treatment and often their successful recovery, so today we have a lot to celebrate.”

Since the start of the partnership, TPG’s involvement with Make-A-Wish has been growing. TPG has donated and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Make-A-Wish, but Kelly knows we can do more.

“Donating miles and raising money are natural options for TPG, but we wanted to take it to the next level. We came up with the idea of ​​chartering the entire flight of Make-A kids. -Wish to our partners at American Airlines, and they agreed to the board from the very beginning,” Kelly shared. “They knew it was a crazy idea, but they all wanted to give back and together our team found a way to make it work and the way it all came together was really amazing. surprised.”

Magical Flight to Walt Disney World

For these 26 children and their families, the Greatest Flight Ever started with the best trip to the airport ever. Families arrive at JFK by car service and are greeted with balloons and a dedicated check-in counter upon arrival.

After passing through security and being escorted to a private gate area, the children were greeted in style with a red carpet and the host announced their arrival.

Of course, the Greatest Flight Ever has to start with the best gate party ever. A DJ keeps the music going, there’s Mickey-shaped waffles and fruit on the breakfast buffet, kids get their faces painted, and the celebratory atmosphere couldn’t be higher.

first belong to 8

WYATT SMITH/THE POINT

When it was time to board the plane, the ceremony conductor called each child’s name, and the line on either side of the boarding area cheered on each family as they boarded the plane.

That’s enough to get any ride on the right foot, but the party doesn’t end there.

first belong to 8

WYATT SMITH/THE POINT

After boarding the plane, families were treated to a rare “salutation” as the plane moved under sprinklers from fire engines on both sides of the plane.

After the plane reached a safe cruising altitude, the flight attendants handed out hamburger meals provided by Red Robin (also a Make-A-Wish partner) and star-shaped lollipops (because every holiday should be). start with some sugar).

After that, the head flight attendant happily started the in-flight carnival by carrying Michael James Scott (you might know him as the Genie in Disney’s “Aladdin” on Broadway) for a Disney-themed solo. The kids even get a microphone to turn it into a real karaoke experience. No wonder many kids share that this is their favorite part of the flight.

This includes seven-year-old wish child Jaziah, who loves all things Disney but especially “Toy Story” and says singing is his favorite part of the flight.

Four-year-old Joshy and ten-year-old cousin Jackson agreed. “My favorite part is when the Broadway singer shows up,” Jackson told TPG. Joshy shared that his favorite part was when Scott sang “the Genie song” and Joshy’s mother said that Scott’s performance of “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” soothed him to sleep like a lullaby.

The children also received a copy of the “Can I Become a Pilot?: Evie’s Journey to Becoming a Pilot,” by pilot and author Lauren Settles, who directed her to read her book with the kids.

Both Scott and Settles share their talents with these deserving kids and offer some wise advice to make sure the kids know they too can follow their hearts and make their dreams come true. .

Passengers cheered as they landed as they were surprised with a second water cannon salute before leaving the plane. Dozens of Make-A-Wish employees and volunteers cheered the kids on to Orlando.

There really isn’t a better way to describe it. It was the best flight ever.

Now, those same kids and their families will spend a week visiting Walt Disney World Resort and all of Orlando’s theme parks. They will also stay magical For Children World Village — a storybook-themed resort near Orlando that offers free vacations to terminally ill children and their families — absolutely free.

This may be the first Best Flight Ever, but it’s far from the first time a child wishes to visit. Walt Disney World has come true.

Since Disney began collaborating with Make-A-Wish in 1980, they have granted more than 145,000 wishes to children who want to visit Disney parks, go on Disney cruises, and have other Disney experiences.

This year, Disney will grant its 150,000th wish through Make-A-Wish, and that impressive ability to grant wishes comes largely from volunteer hours and generous donations.

It costs about $6,000 to send each family on their week-long vacation to Children’s World Village for their Disney Make-A-Wish themed holidays, and you can help make it happen. their wishes come true.

Kids who visit Give Kids The World Village enjoy their stay there as much as they enjoy visiting Orlando’s theme parks. When asked what they were most looking forward to from this trip, Jaziah and her cousin Jordan excitedly said that they can’t wait to go to the pool at Give Kids the World Village. Of course, others, like Joshy and Jackson, are excited to visit Walt Disney World.

Help Make-A-Wish grant more wishes

Wishes come true, especially for children who need hope and smiles the most.

However, that would not have happened without the help and support of those who want to make the world of children a little brighter.

This particular flight was a charter flight sponsored by American Airlines that makes millions of AAdvantage miles available for wish-granting each year, but Make-A-Wish’s need is even greater than that. It takes nearly 3 billion miles and points each year to meet the travel desires of children battling a terminal illness.

If you want to make a difference, this is the perfect way to help and ensure that Make-A-Wish has the resources it needs to continue making dreams come true.

you can donate just a few clicks away from shows like United, American and Delta. And those miles will be the distance to make many wishes come true.

Whether it’s looking forward to swimming in the pool at Give Kids the World Village like Jaziah, or riding to every attraction at Disney World and singing with a Best Flight Ever stage star like Joshy, the kids This child and family have persevered through this difficult time. Sickness deserves all the magic, hope, and joy in the world.

And over the next week, these 26 families will have it all as their dreams come true in Florida. And together, we can make sure the hope, love and laughter that comes from making your wishes come true goes to the next kids who are battling their own illnesses and needing the very same. That’s to help them get through.