"Just thought about what I want to do with my life when I grow up and figured flying airplanes would be pretty fun."
They say you can't pick your family, but you can pick the family business.
"I knew that I wanted to do this when I was eight years old."
Alan Blankenship is a senior pilot for Delta Airlines, flying for the airlines for 34 years. His son, Wes, has flown just three years so far.
"It's been a really good resource for me to grow as a professional and become a better pilot," said Wes.
On Saturday, they experienced something rarely seen in the commercial airline industry: father and son flying together.
"We have been trying for a while now."
The flight was only made possible because Alan was hired young, originally my Northwest Airlines, which merged with Delta in 2010. Then Delta retired his plane last year, the 747. Wes was ambitious, rising through the ranks under the expert tutelage of his father, and also begged other first officers for trades on flights until it finally happened.
"It was pretty surreal. I kind of had to do a quadruple take."
Alan's wife Sandy, along with Wes's wife and 3-year-old daughter, joined the two on the flight from Seattle to Amsterdam, as father and son piloted the 10-hour flight.
Dad said because Wes has never flown into Amsterdam, he got to fly the first leg of the trip.
"Have you thought about the length of this trip if things don't work out?"
"Oh yeah, we have. We have some contingency plans in place."
All joking aside, these two have a special relationship.
"He's pretty much my best friend," said Wes.
"For me to be able to fly with him is really cool," his dad smiled.
"There's a lot of people who go through life and never really discover their passion, where they can say that really they love going to work every day."
And when you get to work with those you love, it's not work at all.
