Captain Holly Petitt and her daughter First Officer Keely Petitt are making Southwest Airlines history by becoming the first mother-daughter pilot duo for the Dallas-based carrier.

Holly Petitt’s aviation career began straight out of college when she first became a flight attendant for another airline. She then realized her dream was to learn to fly planes. Through training and obtaining certifications, Holly Petitt eventually achieved her dream of becoming a pilot with the support of her family.

Holly Petitt first interacted with Southwest Airlines while she was attending a Women in Aviation International conference. She became hooked on the culture of the carrier, inspiring her to apply for the scholarship Southwest Airlines was sponsoring. Petitt passed her interview and has been with the airline for 18 years.

When Keely Petitt was younger, she flew to San Diego with her mother. At the time, her mother’s Cohearts approached Keely with a big hug and asked her about her life. Keely Petitt notes that she was blown away by how much the Southwest family showed that they cared.

At the age 14, Keely and her siblings received a discovery flight as a gift. That was the moment she realized she wanted to follow in her mom’s footsteps and becoming a pilot as well. She worked toward earning her pilot license and even landed a scholarship with Southwest Airlines in 2017.

“Southwest was always the end goal for me,” said Keely Petitt. “There was really never any other option.”

Holly and Keely Petitt flew their first flight together on Saturday, July 23, on Flight #3658, from Denver to St. Louis, where the two are from. This flight marked the first mother-daughter duo to ever fly for Southwest Airlines.

“It’s been a dream come true,” said Holly Petitt. “First, I found this career and fell in love with it, and then that one of my kids fell into this and in love with this career too. It's surreal."