(afagen)Given the current state of the airline industry and the nature of the stories that people send to us, it’s nice to hear the occasional account of airline staffers going to extra lengths to help a passenger out. Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott has the story of a San Francisco man who had to make an unexpected trip Lubbock, TX, (via Houston) to see his mother before she passed away. “I knew this itinerary was a risk because the stopover in Houston was only about 40 minutes, and my connecting flight was the last flight to Lubbock that day,” the man tells Elliott.