Father and Daughter Fly Last BA Flight Together

After more than 30 years of service, British Airways Captain David Woodruff completed his final flight for the airline on Thursday. Fittingly, the 64-year-old pilot’s daughter was also on the flight deck.

Captain David Woodruff completed his final flight as a British Airways pilot this week after more than 30 years in uniform, but when he landed the Boeing 777 after a journey from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) on Thursday, his daughter, also a British Airways pilot, will still be around to carry on the family vocation. In fact, 35-year-old Kat Woodruff was the copilot on her father’s final flight for British Airways.

“I’m sorry to be leaving BA after so many years, but equally glad that she will be remaining in the airline to continue our legacy, and doing a job I know she has the same passion and enthusiasm for as I do,” the now-retired 64-year-old told the Press Association (PA).

The unique cockpit team had the distinction of being British Airways’ only pair of father/daughter 777 pilots. Woodruff and her dad have piloted flights together about a dozen times in the years that they worked together at the carrier. The two close family members agree that the bond between the aviators made working together and communicating on the flight deck “very easy.”

The father/daughter duo report that they were always able to maintain a professional relationship while on duty. The uncommon circumstances might, however, beg the important question: How exactly does one address a superior officer when that person is also a member of a close-nit immediate family?

“I often flip between Captain, dad and -just because it amuses me – I sometimes call him David,” Kat Woodruff confessed to BBC News.

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