United Airlines has a history of giving back and did they ever yesterday at Los Angeles International Airport (among others). I was on a mileage run on Saturday to ensure I’d get two additional regional upgrades for the fourth quarter of 2011 for flying 10,000 butt-in-seat miles, and the end of the concourse was decorated as a true winter wonderland.

My flight left at 7:49am to Washington Dulles from gate 74 and when I approached the end of the concourse, I knew something was going on. They had begun transforming the area into the North Pole complete with reindeers, Christmas trees, a unique entrance and more.

From what I learned, this is the 18^th year that United at LAX has surprised underprivileged and special needs children from the local area with a “flight†to the North Pole. About 150 kids took a one-hour “United 18†flight on Saturday and when they arrived, were greeted by Santa and Mama Claus in Terminal 7 in this very special area.

It was fun to watch their preparations and I can only imagine it was a fantastic experience for the kids. When I arrived back from Dulles around 8:00pm last night, they were dismantling the area and I saw workers popping balloons into the trash and taking down the trees.

I wish these things were more broadly reported as United really went all-out today at LAX. From what I could find on Google, the same experience happens all around the country.

Christmas dreams really do come true. It was a privilege to fly United Airlines yesterday. If you missed the link earlier in this post, here’s a news report about the day.