Airline Hosts Special Flight Staffed Entirely by Dads and Their Kids in Honor of Father's Day
In honor of Father’s Day, British Airways surprised fathers and their sons and daughters with an opportunity to work together on a long-haul flight from London’s Heathrow Airport to San Diego, California.
The participants were all British Airways employees consisting of father-son and father-daughter pairs who were familiar with their own roles in the airline’s operations — but not necessarily one another’s.
For this unique flight, British Airways arranged for all personnel, from ground crew to cabin crew, to consist of fathers working alongside their sons and daughters.
“None of the pairs had ever worked together before, making the flight an extra special experience,” British Airways wrote in a statement, according to Fox News.
Fathers joined with their children to work as check-in gate agents, operations managers, and engineers. The flight crew also consisted entirely of dads teaming up with their sons and daughters.
British Airways celebrated Father’s Day by giving some of its fathers the chance to work alongside their sons and daughters on a long-haul flight https://t.co/egW7W3i0mR
— Press Association (@PA) June 14, 2019
The employees seemed to love the experience, especially since the younger generation had been inspired to follow in their father’s footsteps when choosing their own flight careers.
“Growing up seeing the pride and passion my Dad has for caring for his customers really encouraged me to work hard and make sure that I love what I do too. It was great to work on board together,” Lois Mackerness, part of British Airways’ cabin crew, said.
British Airways flight takes off to San Diego, California to celebrate Father’s Day https://t.co/K8RVUxjAjw pic.twitter.com/bqlgoPsJBT
— Aviation24.be (@aviation24_be) June 15, 2019
British Airways Captain Martin Ewins was left beaming with pride after a day of work with his daughter.
“For 20 years my daughter watched me fly around the world and I’m so proud that I’ve inspired her to do the same as cabin crew,” Ewins said. “I was incredibly proud of her, and from the moment we stepped onto the plane we weren’t father and daughter, but two members of a flying crew getting ready to operate a flight.”
British Airways staffs ENTIRE flight with dads and their sons and daughters to mark Father’s Day https://t.co/snjtTZoESa pic.twitter.com/YYbK0UW6YD
— Find Friends (@findfriendsuk) June 14, 2019
Ian Romanis, British Airways’ head of mixed fleet cabin crew, knows that many younger employees chose to work with British Airways because of their fathers.
“So many of our people have been inspired to work for British Airways because of the experiences of other family members and this was a fantastic opportunity to create a really special moment for everyone involved,” Romanis said, as mentioned by Inside Edition. “It’s great to be able to reward the fathers in our teams who have inspired the next generation of aviation enthusiasts.”
With many holidays spent apart, spending Father’s Day together in such a special way was a memory that both fathers and their children will cherish.
“With both myself and my son often working in different time zones and countries around the world, it sometimes means that we celebrate special days like birthdays and Christmas on different dates,” cabin crew member Andrew Obal said.
“Father’s Day is of extra importance for us as my son is now a father too, so being a part of this flight and watching my son serve our customers was such a special moment.”
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