James Rose, Phoenix’s father said they plan to use the tickets to go on holiday to Egypt
Phoenix Rose, 8(Image: James Rose)
An airline has pledged to reward an eight-year-old boy from Salford after his actions helped prevent a flight from being diverted.
Jet2 confirmed they will send Phoenix a goodie pack and reward the pair with free flights after they helped calm a disruptive passenger on a Manchester-bound service from Izmir, Turkey, last Friday (April 24).
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “The vast majority of customers have a brilliant experience when they fly with us, however our highly-trained crew are always there to look after everyone, as well as provide our friendly in-flight service.
“We have heard about how James and Phoenix reassured a fellow customer and we would like to congratulate and thank them for their kindness and care.
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“We are arranging for a goodie pack to be sent to them, alongside a voucher for a pair of free flights, in recognition of what they did.”
Phoenix and his father, James Rose, were the mystery passengers who stepped in during the mid-air incident, with James insisting at the time: “I’m not the hero… it was me lad.”
James told the Manchester Evening News how his young son took control of the situation when a passenger became violent and abusive.
“The way he handled the situation, he calmed her down,” James said. “He was absolutely fantastic, he took over. He was saying to her ‘don’t shout, don’t swear… what do your kids do?’. Every time she tried to go off he would tap her and say ‘come on, talk to me’. It was just magnificent to see.”
Reacting to the airline’s gesture, James said the family had not expected any reward.
“We weren’t expecting anything because if people do good deeds and expect a reward it’s not really a good deed is it?” he said. “From our perspective me and Phoenix did what we did without the intention of anything.
“It wasn’t needed at the end of the day, it’s a lovely reward for little Phoenix, I think it’s absolutely brilliant. We are really happy as a family.”
He revealed Phoenix had already set his sights on a destination.
“Phoenix said Mexico but I had to tell him I don’t think Jet2 flies to Mexico. I think we are going to use the flights to go to Egypt,” he said.
James also described how his son has reacted to the wave of public support since the story emerged.
“We sat him down and went through the response to the articles and the feedback from it, he couldn’t believe it,” he said. “He said ‘what, all that for me?’ and I said ‘yeah it’s all for you son.’”
Despite the attention, Phoenix has continued with his normal routine.
“He’s just gone to school as normal, it has not phased him,” James said.
James said his son remained humble about his actions and got quite emotional following the response and support he had gotten “just for helping a lady”. James added that Phoenix’s confidence is something he often showcases on his YouTube channel, where he shares his football skills, something his dad believes has helped hi feel comfortable to step up in situations like these.
“He said ‘but I’d just do it again, it’s just normal, we help people don’t we.’”
Describing him as a “little superstar”, James added the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Social media can sometimes have a very bad reputation but what this shows is there are people who do nice things for no reward and people can see that,” he said. “I’d just like to thank everyone for their comments about Phoenix, for just being nice.”