Jetstar baby celebrates third birthday with special visit
The first baby delivered on a Jetstar aircraft turned three on April 22.
And Jetstar customer service manager Saw Ler Htu who helped three doctors on-board deliver him that day, visited the boy's village in Myanmar on April 9 to celebrate his birthday.
Saw Jet Star was born on Jetstar Asia flight 3K583 from Singapore after it landed in Yangon in 2016.
The "Jet" part of the child's name is derived from the airline because his mother was touched by the care she received from it. Part of her name is coincidentally Star.
Mr Saw, 47, has kept in touch with the family since.
Together with two friends, who are not Jetstar employees, he made an eight-hour journey through Myanmar to visit the boy. It took them five hours by car and three hours by boat.
And this was after a 2½ flight from Singapore.
Speaking to The New Paper last Friday at Changi Airport, Mr Saw recalled that when the baby was born, all the passengers clapped.
Mr Saw, who has been with Jetstar Asia for 12 years, and is from Yangon, said: "That day was very happy for me. Even hours after the delivery, I kept replaying it in my mind."
HAPPY
Mr Saw's trip was sponsored by Jetstar Asia and employees put together some money to donate clothes and food.
When he and his friends got to the village, they celebrated the boy's birthday with about 40 local children.
He said: "Once I settled down, I approached [Jet Star], I gave him some chocolate and I could see he looked happy, then I carried him."
Mr Saw, has two children, aged 15 and 17, and his wife is also a customer service manager with Jetstar.
He told TNP he was asked by the family to visit and celebrate the boy's first and second birthdays but could not make it because of his busy schedule.
When asked whether he would visit Jet Star regularly, Mr Saw said: "I hope I can visit him every year."
Jetstar filmed a heartwarming video detailing the journey, which was expected to be on YouTube today.
In the video, Mr Saw recalls the birth, saying: "I guess he couldn't wait to be born in the hospital and decided he wanted to be the youngest passenger on Jetstar."
Mr Saw's mandatory airline training helped him that day.
He said: "We have to go through a first aid review yearly, so we can help doctors effectively."
After the baby was born, Jetstar Asia offered $1,000 worth of baby supplies to the family to congratulate them.
When asked about offering free flights to the boy and his family, Mr Saw said: "There is no policy on awarding free flights, but we assessed the family's needs and thought donating baby supplies was most appropriate. If we give him free flight tickets, he may not make use of them until he is 10 years old or even 20 years old. So I think this is better than giving free tickets."
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