Love in the Skies
A Cockpit Love Story 💞
They fell in love three decades ago. Now they pilot planes together.
If you love doing something, why not do it with the person you love?
Shelley Atkinson, pilot
Joel Atkinson and Shelley Atkinson, who work at Southwest Airlines, expressed their excitement about their first flight together. They enthusiastically shared their feelings with the flight attendants, took photos, and informed passengers via a pre-flight announcement. Joel mentioned that they made a significant event out of it. Just before takeoff, they sat together in the flight deck, feeling amazing and ready to start a new chapter. Shelley told that she felt euphoric as they prepared for takeoff. Joel recalled their meeting in the US Air Force when they were both flying jets in their twenties. They developed a fast friendship, which eventually blossomed into love. Now, after 27 years of marriage and raising two children, they both work as pilots for Southwest Airlines, often flying together, with Joel as captain and Shelley as first officer.
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Love and work together
They described their experience of working together as amazing, treating layovers as date nights, and learning from each other's wisdom and judgment. They also mentioned that they do not argue mid-flight. They met while studying at the Colorado Air Force Academy in the late 1980s but did not cross paths until later when they were both assigned to fly Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft in Texas.
Despite Joel being initially intimidated by Shelley's qualities, they became close friends first before falling in love. Click here to read
They later got married and became instructor Air Force pilots in Mississippi.
In the Sky
After starting a family, Shelley temporarily left flying but eventually returned to it after feeling a strong call to do so. With Joel's support, she successfully returned to flying full time, joining him at Southwest Airlines in 2023. They credited their successful co-piloting to their long marriage and years of co-parenting. They enjoy working together and make the most of their time during layovers, turning them into date nights.
Love lives forever
They plan to fly with their children in the future, and Shelley hopes to inspire other women by demonstrating that returning to a passion after raising a family is possible. They love traveling together and often share their adventures on social media. Overall, they feel blessed and grateful to Southwest Airlines for allowing them to pursue their careers together.
