This Mom And Her Daughter Are Both Pilots, And They Recently Flew Their First Southwest Airlines Plane Together
Imagine having your child look up to your career and say, “I want to be just like mom/ dad when I grow up.” I mean, how loving and satisfying is that?
It is the story of Holly Petitt, a captain of Southwest Airlines.
On July 23, 2022, Holly and her daughter, 25-year-old Keely Petitt, had flown their first Southwest flight together on Flight WN3658.
Holly and Keely had made the history of Southwest Airlines as the first mother-daughter duo pilots.
Holly started her aviation career as a flight attendant fresh out of college, but “After riding the jumpseat in the flight deck, she realized she wanted to learn to fly planes,” Southwest Media wrote.
When Holly had made her career decision, she was also a full-time mother of three beautiful kids.
With her fantastic family support, aka her husband and mother, Holly was able to finish flight school and pass the training.
Holly had achieved her dream of becoming a pilot, and the goal had let her become a Captain at Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines Co. | Schelly Stone; pictured above are Holly and Keely
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When Keely was 14, she took a discovery flight with her two siblings and instantly fell in love with the idea of flying.
Keely followed in her mother’s footsteps and has been a pilot for seven years.
She joined Southwest Airlines as a pilot in May 2022 after having also interned at the company while still in college.
Before she joined Southwest, Keely worked at regional carrier Horizon Air for three years, beginning in 2019.
With pride and excitement, Holly had made a special announcement on the day Keely and she was flying together.
“Today is a special day for me,” Holly said while the whole plane applauded. “I would like to introduce you to your first officer, a brand new member of the Southwest team of pilots, and my daughter, Keely.”
“It’s been a dream come true,” she continued, “First, I found this career and fell in love with it, and then one of my kids fell into this and in love with it too. It’s surreal.”
Holly’s daughter Keely, now also her First Officer, has felt the same way.
“I’ve known I wanted to fly with my mom my whole life. It was surreal and incredible, just like my mom said,” Keely stated with appreciation.
“As a kid, I always watched her do her job but getting to understand it and see it all again, just like she shared our joy with her co-workers and the customers.”
“It was just the perfect day. It was incredible. I could not be more grateful.”
Even though the duo has no idea when will be the next time they will fly together again after this fantastic experience, they are both looking forward to that day.
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