The Federal Aviation Administration grounded a particular airliner model on the day I call “Black Friday”. I was returning from a business trip in a small city on that day. On Thursday my coworkers and I were changing our itineraries through our corporate travel office. Some switched to a different airline but I was determined to stick it out. In fact, I gave up my seat to one coworker to ensure that he could see his kids early Friday night. Once I got to the airport on Friday morning, I realized my flight to the hub was a go since it was a small regional jet. However, flights were disappearing from the monitors just moments before departure. I tried to change my flight from the hub to any place in the Bay Area, as long as it was not on that airliner model that was grounded. Just as the gate agent was about to book my seat, it had been taken. I asked if first class was available, and like magic, I was handed a first class boarding pass at no extra charge! This was my reward for giving up my flight on the other airline and I was able to relax on the flight from the small city to the hub city.