She glanced toward the training materials on the table.
"We've been rewriting some of the scenarios."
I smiled.
"How's that going?"
She considered the question.
"Harder than I thought."
I raised an eyebrow.
She continued.
"It's easy to write a scenario where the bad decision is obvious and somebody immediately does the right thing."
I nodded.
"But real situations aren't always that simple."
Nina looked toward the folder.
"Exactly."
She explained that the training group was developing exercises involving conflicting seat assignments, angry passengers, supervisors giving unclear instructions, and cabin crew members unsure when to escalate a concern.
Some scenarios required crew members to distinguish between an ordinary service complaint and an actual safety issue.
Others focused on how to document what happened without exaggerating or minimizing the facts.
The team also discussed the pressure employees experienced when wealthy or influential travelers demanded exceptions.
Nina looked toward me.
"We're trying to teach people to recognize when they're becoming afraid of the wrong consequence."
I considered the sentence.
"What do you mean?"
She took a breath.
"On Flight 617, Marianne was afraid of upsetting Mrs. Prescott. I was afraid of challenging Marianne. Everybody was worried about getting in trouble with someone more powerful."
She looked down.
"And you were the person getting hurt while we worried about our jobs."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then she looked up.
"I don't want another crew member standing there trying to decide whether helping a passenger will ruin their career."
I nodded slowly.
"Neither do I."
Nina smiled faintly.
Then added, "Captain Avery says the best time to fix a bad decision is before it becomes an emergency."
I laughed.
"That sounds like him."
She nodded.
Then looked toward me.
"I'm glad he came out of the cockpit."
I took a slow breath.
"So am I."
For a moment, she seemed emotional.
Then she asked something that surprised me.
"Do you ever think about what would've happened if I hadn't called him?"
I looked toward the window.
For several seconds, I considered the question.
Then answered honestly.
"Yes."
She lowered her eyes.
I continued.
"But I don't know what would have happened. I only know what did."
Nina looked back.
"You asked for help. I didn't get it right away. Then you called the captain."
She nodded.
"And that changed the situation."
Her eyes filled.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then I said, "That's why your training matters. The next passenger may never meet a captain who recognizes them."
Nina took a slow breath.
Then nodded.
"I know."
Captain Avery remained an important adviser during the airline's modernization program.