A mother and daughter have revealed what it’s like sharing their dream job as pilots, working for the same airline – and getting to ‘land’ a plane together in a state-of-the-art simulator.
Teresa Irving, 56, and her daughter Gabriella Irving, 29, both work for British Airways, where Teresa serves as a Boeing 787 captain and her daughter as an Airbus A320 first officer.
The pair often cross paths at their Heathrow Airport base, where they wish each other a ‘safe flight’ for the day and share ‘a big hug’ before jetting off on separate aircraft.
And Gabriella, who goes by Ella, said she still calls her mum after every landing, two years into being a qualified pilot.
On Mother’s Day, the pair shared their admiration for one another in a touching exclusive interview with MailOnline Travel.
Teresa Irving (left) and her daughter Gabriella (right) are both British Airways pilots
Ella said: ‘I have always been so proud of mum’s career. When I was little, I would find myself excited to tell people about her job.
‘I have very early memories of being on the flight deck – back in the days when children were allowed to visit – and it almost seemed normal to see her flying this huge aircraft, knowing what all of those hundreds of buttons did and talking on the radios.’
It wasn’t ‘plane’ sailing for Teresa to pin down her dream job, though.
Initially, she pursued a career as a doctor, leaving school after her A levels in 1985 to begin medical school at University College London (UCL).
Then in her second year, she transferred to read psychology, realising that medicine ‘wasn’t for her’.
It was only after she was accepted into the University of London Air Squadron that Teresa realised her calling.
Teresa (left) and Ella (right) pictured with a light aircraft at White Waltham airfield in 2019, the day before Ella’s interview for flying training
Ella, as a child, on her mum’s shoulders
‘It literally changed my life,’ she said. ‘After my first weekend flying at RAF Abingdon, two flights including aerobatics, I remember phoning my mum and telling her I was going to be a pilot.
‘From that moment on, I went flying as much as I possibly could and was fortunate enough to spend three years gaining hours while I completed my degree.’
Teresa graduated in 1990 as the Royal Airforce started to accept female pilots.
She applied for a position there as a pilot and also for a place on BA’s sponsored cadet scheme.
‘I was determined that I was going to fly one way or another,’ she said.
‘As luck would have it, I was accepted for both, but then had an agonising decision to make.
‘I had always known that I wanted to be a mum and this became the deciding factor for me. As the RAF did not offer any maternity leave at that time, I accepted the offer from BA.’
Teresa began training at Oxford Air Training School in August that year, earning her wings 16 months later. She has worked at BA ever since, during which time she has also raised three children.
Ella, who qualified as a pilot two years ago, flies the Airbus A320, pictured
Self-confessed ‘Boeing girl’ Teresa serves as a Boeing 787 captain
Teresa said she gets emotional seeing Ella wear the BA uniform she has worn for so long
Her eldest, Ella, said she has ‘always been in awe’ of her mum who has ‘juggled an incredibly rewarding but demanding career with being a fully present parent’.
Now the sky seems to be the limit for Ella too, described by her mum as ‘a chip off the old block’.
Teresa said: ‘I get quite emotional when I see Ella wearing the uniform I’ve worn for so long and seeing her so comfortable in what was only my world but is now ours.
‘I love that she calls me after each trip to share anecdotes and that I understand the nuances, and I think this appreciation of each other’s environment has brought us even closer together.
‘To see Ella so passionate about the career she’s embarking upon is everything a mum could wish for.’
The pair dream of one day flying a plane together, with Teresa ‘under strict instruction’ from Ella not to retire before doing so.
Ella pictured in a simulator on a jet orientation training course at Gatwick in 2022
LEFT: Gabriella pictured on a training aircraft at Falcon Field in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2021. RIGHT: Ella and Teresa in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2017
But there might be some debate over which aircraft they take off in, with Ella favouring the Airbus and Teresa a self-confessed ‘Boeing girl’.
And it’s no wonder.
The mum has an impressive history with the aeroplane family, which has a yoke for manoeuvring, while Airbus planes have a sidestick.
During her career at BA she has flown the Boeing 757, 767, 777, and the ‘iconic’ 747 jumbo jet. Now? She’s a captain on the 787 Dreamliner.
For Mother’s Day, Teresa got the chance to show her daughter what the Boeing 787 is all about when they were invited to put BA’s flight simulator of the aircraft to the test.
Teresa and Ella flew together for the first time in BA’s Boeing 787 flight simulator, above
Teresa tells Ella she is ‘doing brilliantly’ as she guides her through landing a Boeing 787 in the BA flight simulator. Ella said the experience of flying with her mum inside the simulator was ‘everything I wanted it to be and more’
Footage taken from inside shows Teresa telling Ella she is ‘doing brilliantly’ as she guides her through landing the 223ft (68m) plane and encourages her to ‘let it come down’ and ‘let it settle’ moments before touchdown.
‘Brilliant, lots of fun,’ Teresa adds. ‘See, you can fly Boeings easily,’ she jokes to her daughter in the video.
Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Ella said the experience was ‘everything I wanted it to be and more’ – and that flying with her mum was ‘nothing like the driving lessons we used to have when I was 17’.
She praised Teresa as ‘an amazing captain’ but jested that the Boeing aircraft was ‘much easier’ to fly thanks to its ‘Head up Display’ – which shows the pilot important flight information while still allowing them to see through the cockpit window.
Ella praised her mum as ‘an amazing captain’ but jested that the Boeing aircraft was ‘much easier’ to fly
Ella is pictured above with her hand on the throttle in the Dreamliner
Flying planes definitely runs in the family for Ella, whose dad and step-dad are also pilots.
As for her two siblings, they have ‘so far decided to keep their feet on the ground’, she said. ‘But with our family, there is no telling.’
But it is Teresa who appears to be Ella’s driving force, described by her daughter as ‘truly inspiring’.
Her mum extended her passion for the job – as both pilot and mother – in a message to aspiring female pilots.
Teresa, pictured above in the Dreamliner flight simulator, described being a pilot as ‘the most fabulous job for a woman’ and ‘incredible for a family’
‘Follow your dreams and, with grit and determination, you can do it,’ she assured pilots-in-waiting.
‘It is the most fabulous job for a woman. It’s incredible for a family.
‘You get to be a little bit of you. You get to go away and you get to fulfil yourself.
‘But also, when you come home, you get time at home where you don’t have other things to do apart from be a mum and that’s just amazing.’
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