Although the dates of our respective Mother’s Days differ, Father’s Day in the U.K. is always the same date as it is in the U.S. – the third Sunday in June. That’s a good thing because British Airways just pulled off a great U.K.-to-U.S. surprise for some of its employees who are dads…
Pilots & Cabin Crew. Image courtesy of British Airways
To celebrate Father’s Day, the airline organized their duty rosters so some of their employees who have adult children, and their sons and daughters who also work for the airline, got to work together. It happened on June 6th, on a special long haul flight from Heathrow to San Diego, which had the code name Bravo Alpha Pappa.
LONDON, UK: (L-R) James Brennan (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer) and his son James Brennan (Mechanic) who were working on the special Father’s Day flight at London Heathrow on 06 June 2019 (Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)
The entire flight was covered by fathers and their sons and/or daughters – check-in desk workers, gate agents, operations managers, engineers, cabin crew and pilots.
Customer service agents Ashok and Vishal Sharma prepare to welcome travelers at Heathrow. (Picture by Stuart Bailey / British Airways)
None of the relatives had ever worked together before they worked on different fleets. But British Airways played around with everyone’s schedules so fathers and daughters, and fathers and sons could work side by side for the first time ever. They kept it a surprise too – everyone involved didn’t even know about the special flight until their monthly schedule came out.
Stephen Pelham (ramp agent), pictured on the job alongside his son Greg (ground operations agent). (Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)
Many of the participants were able to share how they wound up following in their fathers’ footsteps:
Lois Mackerness, a member of BA’s cabin crew, said her Dad has always inspired her:
“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. I picked up some of his top tips that he’s learnt through his many years of flying.”
Another of BA’s Cabin Crew member Andrew Obal, said of working alongside his son:
“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. 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.”
British Airways Captain, Martin Ewins, spoke of the enjoyment of working on the same aircraft as 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. This is the first time we’ve ever worked on the same aircraft together and that’s such a special feeling. 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. Despite everyone’s excitement about the flight, that professionalism was shown by the whole team on board.”
Ian Romanis, British Airways’ Head of Mixed Fleet Cabin Crew said: “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. It’s great to be able to reward the fathers in our teams who have inspired the next generation of aviation enthusiasts.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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