Consumerist reader Tracy was flying JetBlue this Saturday when an announcement came over the intercom saying there was a “special guest” onboard. It was JetBlue CFO Ed Barnes! Big whoop, said the passengers, until the flight attendant added, “and the CFO is feeling really generous so we are going to have two people in the front row randomly pick a number and a letter and the person sitting in that seat will win a free JetBlue roundtrip ticket anywhere Jetblue flies.”

That sure got people excited. The CFO gave away two sets of tickets, said Tracy.

From where does this generosity spring? Well, it’s not the first time Barnes has revealed himself to the passengers. When he was spotted actually chipping in as a flight attendant and picking up trash, JetBlue told New York magazine that their top executives routinely fly, talk to customers, and give out free tickets. It’s also company policy for “every single crew member helps clean up the flight and tidy up the plane.”

Guess when you have flight attendants quitting their jobs via emergency slide, it helps to have some backup.

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