NEEBING TOWNSHIP – When Swoop announced it was going to start flying out of Pearson, a Twitter account purporting to be a local woman responded with elation.
Little did she know it would result in her hometown of Pearson Township, located in Neebing, getting a new outdoor skating rink.
“Hey @FlySwoop, I can’t believe you’re going to start flying from my hometown. So exciting. Jamaica, here I come,” responded Barb Higgins to the announcement, tweeting her excitement to the company, which is owned by WestJet.
Airline officials responded with a video – and a little generosity.
“When we announced that we were going to be flying from Pearson, we thought it was obvious we were talking about the international airport in Toronto,” says airline spokesman Ernie Douglas, rolling his eyes.
“Like really obvious. But as it turns out, someone from the Township of Pearson in Neebing, Ont. thought otherwise.”
At that point, a screenshot of Higgins’ tweet was flashed on the screen.
Douglas quickly clarified her mistake.
“We’d like to clarify that we will not be flying out of the rural township of Pearson, population of 374, for a variety of reasons,” he said.
“For one, there’s no airport.”
The face-palm emoji may or may not have been utilized at this point in the video.
“Still, we feel somewhat responsible for the misunderstanding. Normally we just throw a bunch of free flights your way and call it a day. But that probably wouldn’t do much good, since you’re 16 hours away from the nearest airport we fly from,” Douglas said. “Luckily, another one of your tweets gave us an idea.”
At that point, another screenshot of one of Higgins’ tweets appears on the screen.
“Dreamt I was a squirrel last night.”
“No, the other one,” Douglas said.
It was more to the point.
“Help us raise money for a new community skating rink this Saturday,” Higgins tweeted, the message sent on Oct. 22.
Douglas then said the airline will provide the money needed to buy the rink.
“Swoop is donating a new skating rink to your township. It’s our way of saying sorry, which by great coincidence, also happens to be great PR for us,” he said. “It just goes to show you that sharing unfiltered thoughts on the Internet always turns out great for everyone.”
Higgins acknowledged the video on Twitter.
“Enjoying my celebrity status with a side of embarrassment ... thanks @FlySwoop, I’m dusting off my skates!”
Tbnewswatch has reached out to the Twitter account, which was recently created, to verify the story and the validity of the account, but has yet to receive a reply. It has been confirmed by township officials that the rink will be built, likely next year.
