It’s rare for pilots to make an impression on passengers, as they don’t interact much with those on the other side of the cockpit door. Heck, the lack of anything eventful or memorable usually means the pilots did a good job. However, yesterday I had an American Airlines captain who was unforgettable on multiple levels…
A great captain from American Airlines based in Miami
Yesterday morning I flew with American Airlines in an Airbus A321neo (it was actually one of Alaska Airlines’ former jets) from Boston (BOS) to Miami (MIA).
When boarding, the captain stood at the door and greeted each passenger with a big smile, which was of course nice to see, as I find that quite rare these days.
I was in Main Cabin Extra on this flight, but when boarding was complete, I saw her standing at the front of First Class to give the passengers sitting there a special welcome on board and thank them for their business. It’s been years since I’ve seen an American captain do something like that, so I thought it was a really nice gesture.
She then made her welcome announcement to the entire cabin, which was once again super friendly and kind of funny too. “We are based in Miami and this is the last leg of our trip, so we’re going to fly like we stole it and hope to have you there a few minutes early.”
But here’s the most interesting detail: she explained that her co-pilot was actually her husband. At first I wondered if I had misunderstood, but when the flight attendants announced the names of the crew, the captain and the first officer actually had the same last name.
Suffice it to say that this captain made an impression, not only because of her kindness, but because her first officer was also her husband. I would have liked to ask her a few questions, but didn’t get the chance as they stormed off the plane after landing (I can’t blame them!). As they exited the plane, the captain said to the lead flight attendant, “Thank you for taking such good care of us. I hope to fly with you again soon.” As you can see, she was in a class of her own all around.
That must be an interesting cockpit dynamic
I’m curious to see what the scheduling looks like for this pair and what the dynamics are like in the cockpit.
American Airlines employs over 15,000 pilots, so it’s normal for most pilots to fly with other colleagues on each flight and possibly never fly with them again (especially if pilots change aircraft and positions over the years).
Pilots can bid on their schedules, so I’m wondering if I’ve simply ended up on one of the few flights where they fly together, or if they make a point of always flying together when possible. I suspect it might be because they’re both senior pilots on the A320 family (the wife as captain and her husband as first officer) and so usually get the schedules they bid on. They might sacrifice a bit of money to be able to work together.
For many pilots, one of the hardest aspects of their job is being constantly away from home and their spouse, so it’s a whole different story when you can constantly travel with your spouse instead.
At the same time, I’m curious about the dynamics in the cockpit when a couple flies together. Generally speaking, working with your spouse isn’t a good idea when it comes to maintaining a relationship, but I imagine they’ve figured it out.
Every now and then an airline will highlight some cool pilot pairs, like a parent flying as captain while their child is first officer, or siblings flying together. However, I’ve never intentionally flown with a married couple, so I thought that was pretty cool.
Conclusion
Yesterday I had an amazing American Airlines captain who greeted each passenger as they boarded, gave a special welcome to the first class cabin, and made a generally friendly and engaging welcome announcement. The coolest part, though, was that her husband was the first officer on the flight.
You don’t see something like this every day, so I just have to share it and wonder if anyone has experienced something similar.
Has anyone ever flown with this American Airlines couple? Or are there more out there?
