Mother, daughter both pilot Southwest flight: 'It's been a dream come true'

Image 1 of 4 ▼ Southwest Airlines first Mother/Daughter Pilot duo, Captain Holly Petitt (left) and First Officer Keely Petitt (right). (Southwest Airlines Co. | Schelly Stone)

Flying the friendly skies could not have been more touching for Southwest Airlines passengers en route from Denver, Colorado, to St. Louis, Missouri, last Saturday.

Their pilots were Captain Holly Petitt and her daughter First Officer Keely Petitt, a mother-daughter duo in what the company calls a first for its flights.

According to Southwest, Holly started dreaming of being a pilot after riding in the jumpseat as a flight attendant for another carrier. She took flying lessons while she and her husband supported their three children.

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Keely grew up and took after her mother. At 14 years old, she wanted to follow her mother's footsteps and also become a pilot. She earned her pilot's license and interned with Southwest Airlines in fall 2017 to pursue a career in aviation.

"Southwest was always the end goal for me," Keely said in a news release. "There was really never any other option."

Keely came back to the airline as a pilot and was recently paired with her mother on Flight #3658 on July 23.

"It's been a dream come true," Holly added. "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."

"Not only are Holly and Keely making Southwest history, but also they're breaking barriers and empowering women of all ages to pursue their dreams in aviation, and pun intended, reach for the skies," the company said in a statement.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.