UPS Captain Mark Jerman and Tyler Blades, 6, of Wasilla, met while seated next to each other during a red-eye flight early August.
Despite having just flown a cargo aircraft 10 hours from Hong Kong to Anchorage, Jerman answered all of Tyler's questions about flying and airplanes. Cheryl Blades, Tyler's mother, contacted UPS to thank Jerman for his time.
"I reached out to UPS, and I said, 'Hey, I just want you to know this guy went above and beyond,' " Cheryl Blades said.
"I was pretty surprised. It was very kind of her to do something like that," Jerman said.
Tyler and his family were then invited to tour a UPS 747 freighter with Jerman on Friday in Anchorage, where Tyler was presented with his very own captain's hat.
Cheryl Blades said Tyler had wanted to be a firefighter, or an EMT, or a police officer — "and now he wants to fly airplanes."
"It was my privilege (to show Tyler around)," Jerman said. "I hope I sparked some interest that'll stay with him, and you never know what can come of that."