r/MadeMeSmile • u/dairymilk_silk • 1d ago
Wholesome Moments Baby finally got to fly with his dad at the controls and his sweet message just melted my heart š„¹
Idk this moment healed something in me. As a kid, who literally grew up in the absence of her father, it's a priceless moment for me as well ( he left this world when I was 8 )
Source: southwestair
1.6k
u/Shane8512 1d ago
And he will be flying the plane today.
160
33
u/sinofmercy 21h ago
All this reminds me of is the plane accident involving another pilot's kids but that's the opposite of making me smile
7
→ More replies (2)3
u/Safe-Tea-4161 6h ago
Thanks, had never heard of this, itās just taken me on a complete wiki tangent all over the place š- at first the title reads like itās the teens fault but very much wasnātā¦ also helped lead to modern Upset recovery training and Push, roll, power, which teaches commercial pilots how to properly respond in unexpected, high g force situationsā¦ reading all this with no plans on becoming a pilot but does make me feel safer as a passengerā¦ but yeah, keep yo kids out the cockpit š¤£
18
27
u/sulkee 21h ago
All pilots are locked in but you know that pilot is flying super locked in during this flight.
3
u/Rule12-b-6 16h ago
All pilots are not always locked in. Exhibit A is the recent Prime cargo accident.
17
u/ScoobyScotty 23h ago
With all the news I'm seeing on r/aviation over the last 1-2 years, it can't get much worse!
7
u/geddysbass2112 22h ago
Too many social media pilots worry about the camera angles than the controls.
7
u/nyrB2 22h ago
surely you can't be serious!
→ More replies (1)9
u/probably_nontoxic 21h ago
I am serious
and donāt call me Shirley
→ More replies (1)2
u/Normal_Truck_6363 15h ago
Thatās a classic line! It sounds like a memorable flight experience for sure.
8
→ More replies (1)3
347
502
u/breadexpert69 1d ago
This message brought to you by Southwest Airlines Co.
143
32
u/two-ls 23h ago
Couldn't be a better day for positive airline optics...
7
u/azsnaz 20h ago
Anyone else forget what day it is?
8
u/irespondwithmyface 19h ago
My birthday...
→ More replies (1)4
3
6
u/CallMePickle 19h ago
This is the third feel-good southwest pilot video this week.
None of them turn 180 to show passengers.
→ More replies (3)8
u/SouthIsland48 1d ago
Now controlled and run by PE firms - who on earth is flying Southwest nowadays? Everyone I know moved onto Delta or American
3
u/jobforgears 21h ago
The government and lots of business have agreements with southwest. I routinely (in the past) went from la to Denver on southwest flights and they were sometimes as low as $78 and rarely more than $150.
It made me excited, thinking southwest was cheap only to find in my dismay that for the same flights ran around $400 dollars just for me.
→ More replies (1)7
364
u/pandafab 1d ago
hope nobody needs to bleed Southwest red
133
u/megadeadly 1d ago
The baby is super cute, but that was a weird addition
127
u/houstonchipchannel 1d ago
It weird af, but Iād bet it serves his purpose, which is to move up in the industry. The video goes viral; he does a big shoutout to SWA; looks like a superstar at his company. Heās weird, but heās making a calculated play (in addition to expressing love for family)
53
u/Inline_skates 1d ago
My cousin's worked for SWA for 20+ years and he loves that company. A lot of their employees are like that, SWA apparently treats them very well from what he's said.
17
u/Frankenkind 23h ago
They used to. It's really gone downhill in recent years. SWA also weirdly hires a lot of couples like this. They're really big on the "we're a family" thing, which isn't healthy for an employer nowadays.
→ More replies (1)2
u/Punningisfunning 1d ago
Plus it shows that both parents are so dedicated to their jobs that neither of them will take mat/pat leave.
15
u/Eccentrica_Gallumbit 1d ago
How do you know that none of them have taken leave? The baby's 7 months old, they could've taken it when the baby was a newborn for weeks/months.
→ More replies (3)3
u/Nat20Life 13h ago
Tell me you're not from the US without telling me you're not from the US.
cries in american
2
18
u/KamakaziDemiGod 1d ago
"but just to reassure you all, I would also sacrifice my son and wife to save everyone else on the airplane. . . If such an event should arise . . ."
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (1)2
16
u/Pseudo_ChemE 1d ago
Meh it seems like his workplace is supportive of his family. The guy might just feel blessed to work at southwest š¤·āāļø
→ More replies (1)10
u/SabbyFox 1d ago
For those who havenāt heard that term before, it definitely sounds weird. Iāve heard it in the context of sports, especially football. It refers to long term and uber passionate fans - often those whose family have been fans for generations, so itās in their blood.
47
u/ImpossibleKidd 1d ago
āNow, thatās not even the cool part. The cool part is, Iām letting him take the controls just after liftoff.ā
8
u/Grimol1 22h ago
Iām a pilot and I let my kids handle the controls of a single engine airplane at altitude when they were 3 or 4. What are they going to hit? Thereās nothing up there.
→ More replies (5)3
u/8lock8lock8aby 14h ago
Yeah ny uncle let me take the controls in his small plane when I was like 7 or 8. It was fun.
165
u/patrick-1977 1d ago
Getting tired of these concealed advertisement tricks.
210
u/fmaz008 1d ago
Yeah me too. That's why I use Nord Shark ! Use my coupon code for 5% off a 30 years membership!
29
→ More replies (1)9
4
u/SouthIsland48 23h ago
I also hate when flight attendants or pilots like to force their customers into being an audience for a standup routine or whatever the hell OPs video is.
No one cares. Truly. I know it hurts. We all have babies of our own, and we're tired, and underpaid. Just focus on getting us from point A to point B. I dont need to hear your little pat on the back, or your little standup routine.
14
u/FaveStore_Citadel 21h ago
Eh. The āno oneā is debatable. I mean, the Reddit demographic likely wouldnāt, sure, because people here are miserable and rarely bond on this site about anything except hating everyone other than their favorite politicians, but echo chambers are limiting and people outside it can be different than you and have different values and temperaments.
18
u/axeil55 21h ago
I thought it was very cute. This site loves to be miserable and cynical about literally everything.
7
u/FaveStore_Citadel 21h ago
Iāve been on this site for 10-ish years and its user base has always tilted kinda negative, but earlier it wasnāt wrapped in as much of a bubble. Like thereād be people snarking about this guy sure in a self-aware way, but now they sincere believe that their way of thinking is universal and people diverging from it are morally deficient in some way. Like as soon as I saw this I thought oh no Redditors arenāt going to like being shown that there are people who enjoy their jobs and their lives.
21
u/Titaniumchic 21h ago
My dad was a commercial pilot for many many years. I sent this to him.
He replied almost instantly āI did that with you - you were a bit older, and I did it betterā š
š¤£ oh Dad!
Parents being proud to show off their babies will never get old to me.
3
61
u/newkybadass 1d ago
Pilots like to make passengers feel safe and comfortable on every flight. Saying he has his wife and infant aboard is something he felt would be reassuring for his passengers. Saw an opportunity to do so and took it. I would feel safer on that flight.
19
→ More replies (1)4
94
u/SkullDump 1d ago
Everything has to be so damn performative nowadays.
20
u/blondebuilder 1d ago
Phone cameras have supercharged peopleās need for validation.
12
u/throwaguey_ 1d ago
No, itās supercharged his employerās ability to use his situation for PR. They were funny and personable on the mic before social media. But now theyāve figured out it makes great advertising.
20
u/GDRaptorFan 23h ago
I will say in a time longgggg before social media, I brought my son into school just for the beginning of the day on his first birthday to have my high school choir sing happy birthday to him. I just thought it was going to be a cute memory I would always share, 110 kids singing to him and I thought my students would get a kick out of it!
This was exactly 25 years ago today, Sept 11, 2001, so it didnāt turn out like I thought :( . I had to get the babysitter to take him home quick! The students and I were gathered around the little class room TV, not singing that day.
People have always done cute things to connect to others and make memories. It just always wasnāt for outside validation to people all over we didnāt know!
PS Happy 26th birthday to my son!
6
3
u/SkullDump 22h ago
That is some very unfortunate timing lol.
Youāre correct people have always done cute things like the example you put forward. However thereās a difference between that and āwe must record this and then post it onlineā. The moment you do that it immediately feels much less spontaneous and much more premeditated and performative.
And I canāt help but imagine what happened straight after this and him immediately handing the baby back to his wife because heād got what he wanted from the situation.
Itās reminds of my sisterās ex-boyfriend (whoās the father to her three kids). When they had their first baby sheād do 98% of the work but the moment they were in any kind of public setting and people were wanting to see the new baby then heād immediately want to hold it and say things like āoh you know, yeah itās lots of work, lots of sleeplessness night but weāre coping lolā. Heād make sure to take all the plaudits and sympathy in public but the moment it was over then hand the baby straight back to my sister.
3
u/agodrevealed 18h ago
United brought my 4 year old into the cockpit and let her sit in the seat, have her a pilot hat, and sent me pictures. It was awesome.
It was just a nice thing the captain did for us. No socials or whatever
94
u/fossilgal18 1d ago
So much radiation to bebe
29
u/hammertime2009 23h ago
Kinda my first thought but didnāt wanna be that guy. Too much radiation is bad for anyone but definitely canāt be great for an infant. 29 flights?? the kid needs to be grounded. This whole family is radioactive
→ More replies (1)9
u/Carra144 23h ago
I thought that too, but a lot are probably short flights, so that would drop it down significantly.
Probably in the top percentile for 7 month old carbon footprints thoughĀ
14
3
u/somethingwholesomer 9h ago
I literally saw a study today about flight attendants having a higher rate of cancer because of the radiation
→ More replies (5)4
u/JennySt7 18h ago
Yeah I was scrolling the comments thinking āsurely I canāt be the only one concerned about this š¤ ā
32
u/Ulfmikel 1d ago
The South west blood and The Family airline sounds kinda weird
9
u/ghastlypxl 1d ago
We bleed blue was one of my high school slogans/taglines. I think itās just one if those āteam spiritā phrases.
→ More replies (5)11
20
86
u/Potent_Quotient 1d ago edited 1d ago
Anybody else worried about unnecessary radiation accumulation for a baby?
Edit: we are not talking about normal traveling sounds like the baby has been flying dozens of times already. Radiation accumulation lasts a lifetime and is worst during periods of rapid growth especially in infancy.
33
u/GodlyShimAcquierd 1d ago
Was looking for this take. Flight personel are often classified into higher radiation classes (like x ray techs). No bueno during rapid growth.
11
u/Rampant16 20h ago
Flight attendants and pilots have the highest rate of death from radiation-related cancers of any profession.
18
u/dino_roar3304 1d ago
Saw an article on Reddit not too long ago talking about radiation and that was my first thought. 29 times that baby has flown and he's only 7 months! Poor kid
→ More replies (1)27
u/Severe_Firefighter80 1d ago
This kind of talk is why we don't have more superheros around. Seriously though that is one of the worst times in life to get avoidable radiation
11
u/FudgyFun 1d ago
I don't know about radiation but flights generally compress blood vessels and arteries. I got a blood clot in a long flight when I didn't move around and stay hydrated enough. I wonder how it affects delicate babies.
8
u/Potent_Quotient 1d ago
Yeah not necessarily compression but long period of blood stasis and pooling in the leg causes deep vein thrombosis (compression socks actually help quite a bit). Babies are little less susceptible because they have more room to move around.
→ More replies (2)5
5
u/Apple_Jake 22h ago
This is the first time Ive heard of this, are planes more exposed to radiation? Is it because of the altitude?
→ More replies (1)6
u/Rampant16 20h ago
Yes pilots and flight attendants receive the highest dose of radiation of any profession other than maybe astronauts that have spent significant time on the ISS. Nearly 7% can expect to die from radiation-related cancers.
The atmosphere absorbs much of the cosmic radiation before it reaches the ground so people spending lots of time at high altitude recieve a much higher dose of radiation. Over a given time-frame, pilots and flight attendants are receiving an order of magnitude or more radiation than the average person.
2
u/GypsyVixen_26 5h ago
Thank you for explaining this and posting the link! My mom wanted to be a flight attendant. So thankful now that she wasnāt!
8
2
u/Maveric1984 14h ago
Bingo.Ā First thought.Ā About 30 chest X-rays of radiation before 1 year of age...pretty scary.
20
17
15
u/snuggleslut5 1d ago
I'm going to just choose to believe that this is a sweet moment where a proud papa gets his first chance to show his son what he does for a living. I'm choosing the wholesome take. They're a cute family and since she's a pilot too, flying must be something they bond over. Baby probably has an aviation themed nursery. Even if this is a PR tactic, I'm alright with it because that's probably still a real family. I'm jealous of all the free flights that kid is going to get.
23
5
5
u/Upsidedowncr0w 8h ago
Why Americans always gotta bleed this or that just exist
→ More replies (1)2
17
u/Schumacher242 1d ago
Goddamn 33 flights at that age? Isnāt a detrimental for fully grown folks to fly professionally.. our cancer rates, neurological issues, etc.
11
u/LulaniDRC 23h ago
ā¦he literally says ātoday is his 29th flight.ā
5
4
u/Mortuary_Guy 22h ago
Good call on the pilot showing off the baby. It reassures me that he is less likely to crash the plane and kill everyone.
3
u/Spinedaddy 15h ago
29 flights in the first seven months of life. Wow. The radiation exposure that child has received at such an early age is not insignificant.
11
7
u/Zakkattack86 1d ago
The intercom isn't even working, is this a bit?
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Charming-Standard-84 22h ago
"Hey, my name is Sean and I'll be holding this random baby hostage until Southwest provides some DECENT FREAKIN' COFFEE."
3
3
5
u/Pulgoso_ 17h ago
Cool Parents and Cool baby but saying "we bleed southwest red" is a bit concerning like bro that's a company not a sports team, they'll replace you in a week when you're gone.
Maybe a PR post?
10
u/imllikesaelp 1d ago
Wow. Someone managed to combine my two least favorite things: air travel and people talking about their babies.
9
2
u/TheDropish 1d ago
Yeah I don't know I don't think id feel comfortable with the baby flying the plane /s
2
u/chiefrelichunter 1d ago
Think he said the bay bay would be in the back with mom, not on the controls, which would be alarming and probably (hopefully!) not allowed
→ More replies (3)
2
2
2
2
u/DizzyPear9798 23h ago
shawn, your baby is cute. but sit down and start the flight. the guy next to me isn't wearing deodorant and someone just opened a tuna salad sandwich while they listen to videos without earphones.Ā
2
2
2
u/seoras13 21h ago
He missed an opportunity. When he said they had a pep talk & you have to on your best behaviour. He should have said: so I'm going to try.
2
u/SomethingAbtU 21h ago
i may not have done a great job following along but i really don't think babies should be flying planes and dont' get me started on the child labor part
2
2
2
2
2
29
u/PsychologicalSink187 1d ago
Bro, do the safety announcements and get the flight going. What is it with every person that picks up the mic needs to have some kind of Shtick? I see complaints from airline workers/pilots that they perceive clapping during landing is rude and tacky but we have to sit through this main character shit? He said it himself, people paid a bunch of money for the flight, get it moving.
32
u/mecartistronico 1d ago
I think it's nice that people share their happiness, provided something else is happening at the same time and they're not just wasting time.
People who do a service for you are also persons, with things that make them happy and things that worry them. Nothing wrong in having a little bit more connection with those around you. We're not all robots.
→ More replies (1)11
u/CitizenCue 1d ago
I donāt mind a few seconds of humanity being inserted into my day. He was quick and well spoken, not a big deal.
40
u/mybodybeatsmeup 1d ago
The reality is even if he stopped talking in that moment, sat down at the controls, the plane wouldn't be able to just take off. Systems and things in place. Enjoy the light hearted moment, with a happy pilot versus a disgruntled and stressed out one.
14
u/Academic-Increase951 1d ago
Yeah If you were a nervous flier then you might be comforted a bit that the pilot was happy and has his kid aboard VS. Disgruntled and angry.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)5
4
3
4
4
u/Stonerdoom888 1d ago
Its cute and shit but i dont like it for some reason
7
u/machinationstudio 23h ago
It's the whole children in front of the strangers/the internet bit.
2
u/NamelessCabbage 23h ago
Today is also 9/11 and I just watched a bunch of 9/11 posts, so my mind is in a dark place rn :(
3
2
u/Strict-Beginning-550 1d ago
In short he meant....if anything happens today, know I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure we land safely, Why? My Family is here.
2
2
u/Key-Monk6159 1d ago
How awesome was that! The smiles of both dad and son more than cancel out some of the cynical comments posted here.
2
u/lauralynn81 23h ago
I hate flying so I would have been like āyeah yeah.. cute baby.. letās get these wheels up and go! Faster we go , faster we land and I can get off this thing.ā š„“š¤£
2
2
3
u/whole_hippie 23h ago
Who the fuck cares. Just do your damn job and take flight.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Azulapis 1d ago
In Europe, parents would still be entitled to paid parental leave when their baby is that age, so they wouldn't have to fly around the world both while working full-time jobs.
2
1
u/BlameTheBullpen 1d ago
I dont care how many cute babies southwest tries to show me. I am still mad at them!
1
u/LogicBalm 1d ago
Narrator: The wreckage was never found.
Sorry, I couldn't resist. This did make me smile and this joke was basically involuntary.
1
u/UncleNoodles85 1d ago
Damn seven months old and he's already flew on an airplane twenty-five more times than I have at forty-one.
1
u/realbobenray 1d ago
Mom had her book club today so Dad's on childcare for the day.
1
1
u/nevertricked 23h ago
That's a very cute First Officer. But he seems inexperienced at only 29 flights.
1
1
u/The_Olas13 22h ago
Beautiful way to start the weekend, that kid is going to rack up some serious frequent flyer miles.
1
1
1
u/Goosentra 22h ago
Man, two pilots raising a baby sounds difficult to manage.. thatās a lot of time away from the baby for both of them! I wonder how often they both get scheduled for trips? though I hope working for the same airline helps with that
1
1
u/Delicious_Subject122 21h ago
If the baby is there, it's more incentive for a safe flight. I would be pleased.
1
1
1
1
u/residentcaprice 15h ago
29 times and only 7 months? was he doing ojt? would he asking "beef or chicken" in a while?
1
ā¢
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Welcome to /r/MadeMeSmile. Please make sure you read our rules here.
Specifically, please don't be a jerk. This is not the place for insulting, hateful, or otherwise inappropriate comments. Remember the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated. We're all here to smile a little - let's keep it that way! Please report inappropriate comments and/or message the moderators.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.