Dear United Airlines

Dear United Airlines Customer Service,

Although my flight into St. Louis from Chicago was delayed several hours, and despite the fact I had to help some poor woman who went into pre-mature labor at the departure gate, and despite the fact I had to pay $10 for 2 snack boxes so my son and I had something to eat on our 4.5 hour flight NOTHING tops my homeward bound experience on Sunday.

In case you missed it, Sunday was the hottest day of the year in St. Louis. Temperatures hit at least 98F (34C ).

You might not know it, but I do believe its heavily publicized that kids and pets can die quickly when left to bake in locked vehicles. In fact, our local news here in Canada has been featuring a story of a Florida mother that killed her 4 year old in this manner.

Yet, for whatever reason, you felt that 60 adults, seniors and children would be fine locked in a sealed plane with broken air conditioning on the tarmac. Trust me, if my absolute desperation to leave Missouri hadn't driven me forward, I would have been bolting for the door. Mid-Flight.

As the temperature in our locked oven rose steadily during the 20 minutes we sat on the tarmac, and again for the 40 minute flight, and again for the 20 minutes we sat on the ground at O'Hara I wondered at the sanity of a group of seemingly normal adults that we all accepted this calmly.

You know that man that who came out of the airplane washroom naked recently? As layers of clothing were taken off all around me, I suddenly understood. He too must have been flying United Flight 5087 St. Louis to Chicago.

To your poor stewardess who handled a flight of sweating, grouchy, sick to their stomach passengers with absolute graciousness I send my regards. Her offerings of ice and water were an oasis in the middle of hell.

So dear United Airlines Executive who decided to allow a plane to fly on the hottest day of the year with no air conditioning, I thank you. I lost 10 pounds of water weight on that flight alone. Some experiences are priceless.

Jen and Greg