Southwest Airways not too long ago celebrated a fairly cool achievement: their first mother-daughter pilot group! Captain Holly Petitt and First Officer Keely Petitt simply accomplished their first flight collectively, however each have been excited by aviation for a very long time.
Holly Petitt’s Dream Of Flying
Holly first started working within the air as a flight attendant. After using within the jumpseat within the flight deck proper behind the pilots, Holly realized she needed to be the one flying the airplane. She began pilot coaching and labored to acquire the certifications she wanted to grow to be a pilot.
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Whereas engaged on her flying profession, Holly additionally welcomed three kids. She stopped working as a flight attendant to be a stay-at-home mother, however continued working in direction of her dream and attending flight faculty.
After attending a Girls In Aviation Worldwide Convention, Holly was impressed by the work tradition at Southwest Airways. She utilized for a place as a pilot and shortly began flying for the airline.
Her Daughter Adopted In Her Footsteps
Keely watched her mother comply with this dream her complete childhood, so it’s no shock she additionally needed to pursue the identical profession. At 14, she determined she would comply with in her mom’s footsteps and began working in direction of this aim. Keely earned her pilot’s license and even scored an internship with Southwest in 2017. Working with the airline made her constructive that this was the airline she needed to finish up working for.
“Southwest was always the end goal for me,” said Keely. “There was really never any other option.” She accomplished her pilot coaching and earned her Southwest Airways wings in Might of this 12 months.
‘It’s Been A Dream Come True’
The mom and daughter duo made their first flight collectively on July 23, from Denver—their hometown—to St. Louis. The Petitts made historical past as the primary mother-daughter group of pilots within the airline’s historical past. Many airways are hoping to extend their variety of feminine pilots, and the Pettits are an important instance of two girls who’ve pursued their desires of aviation.
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“It’s been a dream come true,” Holly shared. “First, I found this career and fell in love with it, and then that one of my kids fell into this and in love with this career too. It’s surreal.” Many individuals have been impressed by the story of the pair’s desires of flying—and touched by the truth that mom and daughter have been capable of pursue this dream collectively.