Several years ago, Suzy and Donna Garrett made history when they took to the skies together as SkyWest’s first mother-daughter duo in the flight deck. On Jan. 23, 2022, the family reached a new milestone as Donna and her brother Mark were able to fly together with their mom, Suzy, joining them in the jumpseat.
“Having my mom in the jumpseat was the cherry on top,” said Mark. “It was easily the most fun I’ve had on a trip at SkyWest!”
Mark came to SkyWest in 2019 to follow in his family’s footsteps. Both of his parents and his sister Donna have all flown for SkyWest, so he said it made it an obvious choice.
“SkyWest’s reputation as one of the best regional airlines to work for sealed my decision,” said Mark. “The family feel at SkyWest goes beyond just my immediate family members working for the same company.”
Since joining the SkyWest team, Mark has been hoping to fly a trip with his sister and was thrilled when she upgraded to captain last year. The two were finally able to align schedules to fly two round trips from Chicago (ORD) to Des Moines, IA (DSM).
While Donna had flown previously with her brother during his flight training, this memorable trip was the first time they were able to fly a commercial flight together.
“Flying with my sister at SkyWest felt really comfortable. Years ago, we flew a cross country flight in a Cessna 172 from Oxnard, CA (OXR) to Oshkosh, WI (OSH) just after I had started learning how to fly,” said Mark. “Donna made all the major decisions during that trip and it felt like a captain and first officer situation. Our SkyWest trip reminded me of the old days of us flying together.”
The trip also gave Mark the chance to see how far Donna has progressed as a professional pilot.
“Her landings have come a long way since Oshkosh!” said Mark. “She has developed the attributes of a great captain. During this trip, she was my sister, Donna, but I also got to see her professional side of Captain Garrett.”
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