Southwest Airlines Welcomes First Mother/Daughter Pilot Duo
In July, Southwest Airlines proudly introduced a remarkable team in its cockpit.
The airline has made history by announcing its first-ever mother-daughter pilot duo, Captain Holly Petitt and First Officer Keely Petitt. The duo has already completed their inaugural flight together on Flight 3658, traveling from Denver to St. Louis.
Holly’s Career Path
Holly shared, “First, I found this career and fell in love with it, and then one of my children fell into this and fell in love with this career too… It’s surreal.”
After graduating from college, Holly began her career in aviation. Initially, she served as a flight attendant for another airline. However, while experiencing a flight from the jumpseat, Holly realized she wanted to take the controls herself. Consequently, she pursued her certifications while balancing the demands of raising a young family.
Keely’s Path to Aviation
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Keely Petitt grew up surrounded by the aviation world. By 14, she was certain she wanted a career in aviation, which led to an internship at Southwest in 2017 and ultimately prepared her for the cockpit. In 2019, she earned her pilot’s license and gained valuable experience flying with Horizon Air for nearly three years. As reported, she has recently joined Southwest Airlines this year.
Familial Headlines in Aviation
Moreover, the Petitt family isn’t the only one making news; Alaska Airlines has also made headlines with the story of identical twin pilots, Alex and Alan, who have recently completed their simulator training. They aspire to fly together one day, much like the Petitt duo.
“We have never flown together professionally because we have always been on different aircraft,” Alex shared. “The goal is for one of us to upgrade to captain so we can operate the same aircraft and finally fly together.”
