For the past three weeks, Savannah Phillips had been flying more frequently than she’d been spending time on the ground – or so it felt. She was early for her next flight and found a comfortable seat when suddenly, everything changed. The once kind flight attendants turned cold and unyielding.
The woman was sitting next to an abusive man on the plane, and she felt trapped. He insulted her relentlessly, but she finally had enough and fought back.
Savannah posted her story on Facebook to not only share the horrible abuse she experienced on the flight, but also because her experience had a happy ending. A complete stranger intervened and prevented her from being tongue-lashed.
Savannah’s flight was canceled because of the weather, and she was moved to an earlier departure. She did not get a choice of seat since the Chicago flight was completely booked as a result of her being relocated to an earlier departure.
“I’m not the biggest person on the airplane, but I’m not the smallest. My worst nightmare is someone being uncomfortable because they have to sit next to me.”
Savannah was terrified of being seated and didn’t know who would be next to her. But when she saw that she had been assigned to a guy in his 60s with yellow sunglasses, she felt peace wash over her. He got up and let her go by without hesitation. And he appeared to be the ideal coach-class neighbors, right? She couldn’t have been more incorrect.
As the airline attendants announced that all electronic devices must be stored away, the man next to Savannah immediately took out his phone and started composing mean text messages about her. His close proximity and large font size made it impossible for her not to read his words.
“He proceeded to text someone that he was sitting next to ‘a smelly fatty.’”
Savannah had been dreading this moment for weeks. And she wept as a result of it. Because she is a new mother still carrying considerable weight, she has negative thoughts about her appearance on a daily basis.
“Before I knew it, I could feel hot, salty tears coming down my face. I sat and cried silently, hoping this guy didn’t try to make small talk, because I didn’t trust how I would react and I didn’t want to get kicked off the plane. I was so hurt. The pilot came overhead and said there would be a 30-minute delay before he could take off. Great. Just more time I would have to sit next to this creep.”
The passenger behind the “creep” spoke up. He requested that the individual change seats because “You are texting about her and I’m not putting up with that.”
The man quickly switched places with the “creep” who had been insulting her.
“(The Good Samaritan) encouraged me not to let that guy get to me and that everything was going to be fine.”
Savannah quickly realized that the man was not someone to be trusted.
“God saw me today. I told him that he was a blessing sent to me.”
When her tale went viral, she learned that Chase, who works at Whiskey Row in Nashville, was the Good Samaritan.
