At the end of the story, they finally arrive at the airport, and it is obvious that Fekadu’s story struck a cord in William’s heart. Alexie is clearly presenting Fekadu as a man who does not profile others based on what they look like. Instead, this man makes an effort to get to know, if only for five minutes, those whom he drives around Seattle. There is a clear difference in the way that William, who is stuck in his familiar ways, treats strangers versus the way the Fekadu does. Fekadu has lived a hard and trying life, while William has most likely lived a fairly cozy life in America. The only positively profound interaction in all of “Flight Patterns” involves the one person, Fekadu, who breaks the boundary between stranger and friend.