Sean Duffy Shares Heartfelt Video Of Air Force Captain, Pilot Daughter Passing Baton On Airline

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted a video of a former Air Force captain and now Southwest pilot’s final flight with his daughter, recognizing his service both to the airline and to his family.

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The video recorded a flight announcement made by First Officer Julia, who announced that the pilot, Captain Jim Curtis, was celebrating his 65th birthday that day. Since 65 marks mandatory retirement for pilots on Southwest Airlines, that flight would be the captain’s “fini flight” or last flight.

Julia then told the passengers about how special this flight was to her personally.

“I’m really honored to be his first officer today, because Captain Curtis has been a mentor for me my entire life,” she said. “He inspired me to be a pilot. On top of becoming a pilot, he also helped teach me how to walk, how to talk, how to ride a bike, how to throw a baseball, how to drive a car, and, probably most importantly, he taught me how to carry myself with humility, kindness and integrity both in and out of work.” (RELATED: JetBlue Says Jet Fuel Will Get Even More Expensive As Iran War Continues)

“Captain Curtis is also my dad!” she emphasized.

“Getting to fly with him is a dream come true and something that we’re going to remember for the rest of our lives,” Julia added.

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Cpt. Curtis followed up his daughter’s heartwarming speech with some humor. He polled the cabin as to whether his daughter, who has been flying with him “for the whole month” and “has a full-time job,” should still be on his phone plan.

“Who thinks she should be off my phone plan?” Curtis asked.

The cabin booed in response as Julia cheered.

Duffy posted the video on X, recognizing Curtis’s service as an Air Force pilot for 21 years and for his total of 43 years in the air with over 18,000 hours of flight time.

“Moment like this remind us why we love TRAVEL,” Duffy said. “This is what inspiring the next generation of aviation is all about.”

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