Since the start of the invasion of armed military forces of Russia into Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, 2022, the world has been bombarded with images, videos, and other forms of accounts as to what has been going on in that country — some of it with levity; but much of it with adversity…
Ukranian Frequent Flier Community Members Receive Messages of Support
…which is what prompted FlyerTalk member corporate-wage-slave to post this discussion pertaining to thinking of the members of FlyerTalk who are Ukrainian and participate in the British Airways | Executive Club forum:
It’s difficult to do this without going outside some necessary boundaries of a frequent flyer forum, nevertheless given the close relationships involved, it would seem remiss to say nothing.
I would like to express my support, concern and yes worry for Andriyko, who is a very active member of this forum and who I have had the pleasure of meeting in Kiev / Kyiv. He is a gentle soul with a huge interest in travel, the UK, British Airways, the English language, which he speaks so well, and other members of this forum. I know he must have met dozens of other participants in this forum, both in the Ukraine and elsewhere. I also express concern for his husband, which in itself illustrates exactly what is at stake here. @Andriyko, you will have many other things to concern yourself with at the moment, but I hope you and your homeland get through this horrible situation, which is not of your making.
I think there are some other Ukranian residents who use this forum too, and we will be thinking of you in these dark hours.
That sentiment received 336 “likes” at the time this article was written — which is thought to be the most “likes” a discussion has ever received on FlyerTalk since the feature was first implemented.
“Thank you dearest CWS” is how FlyerTalk member Andriyko — who is based in Ukraine — responded. “Thank you everyone else. This actually made me cry. I am crying as I am writing this as I did not think that so many people actually cared about us. I woke up to a new reality this morning here in Kyiv. I am hearing explosions outside. My family across the country are reporting the same. I don’t know why he hates us so much and why he’s doing this
(well, I do, of course), but I hope that we will win and I will see you and the others, who have been so kind to me, at another DO some day. Thank you for your thoughts and support.”
Final Boarding Call
The frequent flier community — of which FlyerTalk is arguably most representative — has almost always been close despite differences in opinions.
One of the more legendary examples of how the closeness of the frequent flier community overcame the adversity of war was when two members of FlyerTalk — one who is based in Israel and the other who is based in Lebanon — journeyed to the United States to finally meet in person. That was an arguably historic event which occurred on FlyerTalk where at least one major conflict was “resolved” in fewer than eight minutes.
If you are a member of the frequent flier community who is Ukrainian, take comfort in knowing that you are supported by fellow members of this tight-knit community in general and hope that you stay safe and are affected by the conflict as minimally as possible…
Graphic ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
