SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A mother-daughter duo's historic flight last month included a stop in the Bay Area.
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Southwest Airlines pilots Holly and Keely Petitt became the first mother and daughter in the company's history to fly together during a July 23 flight from Denver to St. Louis.
The Pettits told ABC's "Good Morning America" this week that Holly, 53, flew that leg, while Keely, 25, flew the second, a San Jose-bound flight from St. Louis.
Holly Petitt, a Southwest Airlines captain, previously worked six years as a flight attendant before wanting to become a pilot. She became certified while raising Kelly and her two siblings, flying for Southwest Airlines over the past 18 years.
It didn't take long for Keely to want to follow in her mom's footsteps, deciding she wanted to become a pilot after flying on a discovery flight – an introductory flight for aspiring pilots – that Holly gifted Keely and her two siblings one Christmas. Keely interned for Southwest Airlines in 2017, returning and flying alongside her mother as a first officer nearly five years later.
"It's been a dream come true," Holly said in a company blog post. "First, I found this career and fell in love with it, and then that one of my kids fell into this and in love with this career too. It's surreal."
The Pettits made history flying together in an industry that’s historically male-dominated. Just 5.5% of U.S. airline pilots are women, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, compared to 5.8% around the world. About 9% of Hawaiian Airlines’ pilots are women, which the organization pegged as the leader among domestic airlines.
Keely Pettit told "Good Morning America" that she always had her mother as an example, to show her that it was possible for women to advance in the field of aviation. Now, she is doing the same for women of all ages.
"On my last flight yesterday, I had a woman walking by to go take her seat and she was like, 'Yes, girl power!' so it's been really fun and really cool to just get to interact with people in that way," the younger Pettit said in a piece published on Tuesday.
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