This is your father speaking
Sage (if odd) advice as dad and daughter pilot transatlantic f light together
A FATHER-daughter pilot duo took to the skies for the first time together yesterday– taking Aer Lingus passengers from Dublin to Seattle.
Captain Gerry Duff, 55, and his daughter Aoife, 26, from Dublin, were delighted to discover they were rostered for the same transatlantic flight, something they had been hoping for since Aoife gained her piloting licence for the airline four years ago.
Aoife told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘Since Aer Lingus became real for me, I thought it would be nice to fly with my dad, but I didn’t expect it to happen so
‘I’m 30 years flying now, and I’ll fly with Aoife’
soon.’ Gerry said: ‘We didn’t think it would happen for three or four years. When Aoife got off the cadetship we had thought that maybe we might fly together. Typically, it takes five or six years for somebody as a cadet to get on the transatlantic fleet but, as the company expands, opportunities came up much earlier for Aoife.’
But they are not the only such pairing in the history of the airline. Over 40 years ago, Aer Lingus’s first female pilot Gráinne Cronin flew with her father Felim.
Gerry said: ‘I’m 30 years flying this week and I get to fly with Aoife at the weekend, it’s a wonderful coincidence. It’s the first time in about 40 years that a father-daughter team have flown together.’ A number of important dates have coincided with the pair’s flying debut, which makes the journey particularly special.
This week marks three decades of Gerry flying with Aer Lingus and last week was the fourth anniversary of Aoife getting her contract there.
Aoife said: ‘It was only when we looked at this, two weeks ago, we realised all the different dates coming together. The logistics of all this happening are really quiet rare.’
Mother and wife Trisha Duff got to come along for the flight, and the family will enjoy a three-day stopover in Seattle. Aoife’s 21-year-old brother Ronan is a pilot first officer with BA CityFlyer in London. Her sister Aisling was in cabin crew for five years and is now training to be an aircraft controller at Shannon Airport.
With his years of experience, the MoS asked Gerry what advice he would impart to his daughter as she was starting out in her career. His sage words were simple, and came from bitter experience: ‘Always open the yoghurt facing away from you!’