LONDON-To celebrate Father’s Day in the UK on June 16 British Airways surprised some of its fathers and their sons and daughters by offering them the chance to work together on a special long-haul flight.
None of them knew they’d be working together until they saw their monthly rosters.
The flight, from Heathrow to San Diego in California, departed with help from father and daughter and father and son teams working across the airline’s operation, from check-in desks to gate agents, operations managers to engineers. The flight was then operated entirely by the family pairings - both cabin crew and pilots.
“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 in a British Airways statement. “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.” Lois Mackerness, a member of the cabin crew, said her dad, David, inspired her to get into the business.
“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,” she said.
British Airways said it was the idea of finally bringing these families together for a special day that gave way to the new crew assignments — allowing the dads and their kids to have a shared experience in their shared profession.