I'm gonna interrupt my normally scheduled
briefing here for some exciting news.
Today is a really special day for me.
I would like to introduce
to you your first officer,
a brand new member of the
Southwest team of pilots.
And my daughter Julie Pettit keely.
Come on out here.
How cool is that?
That was Captain Holly Pettit.
She is a Southwest Airlines pilot
and her daughter Keeley followed
her right into the cockpit.
On that day, you could
hear the crowd start to react
when they're like, what is it? What is it?
The surprise ohh I got on Saturday,
July 23rd. This past summer,
Holly and Keely flew their first
southwest flight together from Denver,
where both of them have a connection and
we want to welcome them this afternoon.
They're joining us by Zoom
Captain Holly Pettit first.
Officer Keeley Pettit.
So first of all, I have to ask,
we've got some Colorado connections here.
Where are you guys from and
where are you joining us from
today since you're on zoom?
Uh, today. I'm actually in Denver,
but I'm living in Seattle now.
But I'm in Denver for an event tomorrow.
And I'm in Loveland,
Co, where Keely grew up and was
raised. Wonderful. So you were
the first mother,
daughter pilot duo for Southwest,
which is in itself incredible.
Yeah. But Keely,
I just want to know what I think.
I know the answer,
but have to ask why do you
want to become a pilot?
Watching my mom love her career
and the joy it brought her,
how she got to interact with her passengers,
the love of travel that she gave me as a kid.
Just watching her have so much joy
and love this career is really what
inspired me to want to be a pilot.
Alright, let's have a question for Mom now.
Mom, how did it feel here?
Seeing your daughter
follow in your footsteps?
I mean, I I can't imagine the
feeling of that, of that feeling,
seeing someone that you know,
used to change, you know,
her diapers, she's sitting next
to you in this big massive plane.
Sorry to embarrass you.
Absolutely. That was my favorite moment
in time when Keely was sitting there on
the flight deck with me and it was her
turn at the controls flying the jet,
and I just looked over and on adoration.
It was surreal. Like literally,
like you said, one minute you're
holding this tiny baby in your
arms and in the blink of an eye,
there she is sitting next to you.
It's just it was a magical experience.
Were you, were
you nervous, Keely? Because I mean,
it's not like you have just anybody
sitting next to you, have mom sitting
next to you.
You know, I wasn't really
that nervous just because, you know,
I, me and my mom are really close,
and we always have been.
So I knew I had my #1
supporter sitting next to me.
So that was, you know,
it just made it that much easier.
Will call so tomorrow you'll be
celebrating Denver Aviation Day with
some kids interested in jobs that
you know someday well will involve
them in the aviation industry.
Tell us more about this event.
Absolutely. Denver Aviation Day is
a way to get kids involved and then
give them a chance to experience
different types and parts of aviation
to see if that's something children
are interested in or something
they might have a passion for.
And so it's a really cool event
where we're able to bring aviation
to the community of Denver and
hopefully inspire some new passion.
It seems like you're almost
an example of that, right?
You got a little exposure as a kid to
this industry and then you get to choose.
Go into it as an adult,
and our notes here say that these
kiddos get to help build like a
preflight checklist and some cool.
Like what? What else do they get to do?
And Holly, maybe you can
answer that question.
Yeah so we'll there's different stations
so the station Keely and I are at
every day we go to work we preflight
the jet before we get on and fly it.
So we'll have a Cessna 182 there
that the kids will get to walk
through the pre flight experience
with us and experience that.
So should be a lot of fun.
You two are breaking boundaries
here too in a way because you know
you both of you are are are are
women in a industry that's been
predominantly dominated by men's mom.
What kind of advice have you given
your daughter in this industry?
You know, for me, it's always been
about pursuing your passion in life.
You know, we all work.
And so you spend so much time doing your job,
it's super important to love what you do.
So I really encourage each of my
kids to go out, find what you love
and pursue that with all your heart.
And Keely found aviation, fell in love,
and it's just been incredible.
That's what you hope for your child, right?
You find their passion,
they can make a career out of it.
Well, well, thank you,
Captain Holly Pettit.
And First, Officer Keeley petted.
It was so nice to meet both of you.
Congratulations on this
ground breaking flight.
Good luck with the kids tomorrow.
Great role model, right.
Your mom is a great role model.
And, you know, it's so cool.
What a great story.
All of all the best to you too.
Thank you.
So nice to meet you guys for coming on our.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
Yeah, thank you.
Absolutely.
Thanks for being here.