I just got a note of introduction from my long-time friend Howard Putnam about the newest member of our collegial group, The Speaking Eagles. We are a group of private, military and commercial pilots (and others) committed to aviation.

Our newest member is Capt. Denny Flanagan, a pilot for United Airlines.Denny lives in Ohio but flies out of Chicago.

I’ve admittedly been tough on United post merger, and for reasons I will stand by. But when I hear about employees like Capt. Flanagan, I want to share that positive news, too.

Here’s what Howard says about him:

“Captain Denny writes notes to all his first class passengers and he calls parents of unaccompanied children.  He gets off to buy pizza for a needy passenger. He understands and practices customer service. He is a unique and welcome addition to our group of aviators and speakers.”

He sounds very much like a “Fred” (www.fredfactor.com) in the United system. And for employees like him and the many others who have taken responsibility for serving their customers, I say thank you.(And I look forward to meeting you, Denny. Welcome to Speaking Eagles.)