A mother and daughter have revealed what it’s like to share their dream job as pilots, working for the same airline and ‘landing’ a plane together in a state-of-the-art simulator.
Teresa Irving, 56, and her daughter Gabriella Irving, 29, work for British Airways, where Teresa serves as a Boeing 787 captain and her daughter as an Airbus A320 first officer.
The pair often pass each other at their base at Heathrow Airport, where they wish each other a “safe flight” for the day and share “a big hug” before departing on separate planes.
And Gabriella, who goes by Ella, said she still calls her mother after every landing, two years after becoming a qualified pilot.
On Mother’s Day, the couple shared their admiration for each other in a touching exclusive interview with MailOnline Travel.
Teresa Irving (left) and her daughter Gabriella (right) are British Airways pilots.
She said: ‘I’ve always been very proud of mum’s career. When she was little, I was excited to tell people about her work.
“I have very early memories of being on the flight deck – in the days when children were allowed to visit us – and it almost seemed normal to me to see her piloting this huge plane, knowing what all those hundreds of buttons did and talking on the radio. .’
However, for Teresa it was not a “plane” to sail to get the job of her dreams.
She initially pursued a career as a doctor, leaving school after gaining her A levels in 1985 to begin medical school at University College London (UCL).
Then, in her second year, she went on to study psychology and realized that medicine “wasn’t for her.”
Only after she was accepted into the University of London Flying Squadron did Teresa realize her calling.
Teresa (left) and Ella (right) photographed with a light aircraft at White Waltham airfield in 2019, the day before Ella’s interview for flight training.
She, as a child, on her mother’s shoulders
“It literally changed my life,” he said. ‘After my first weekend of flying at RAF Abingdon, two flights that included aerobatics, I remember calling my mother and telling her I was going to be a pilot.
“From that point on, I flew as much as I could and was lucky enough to spend three years earning hours while completing my studies.”
Teresa graduated in 1990 when the Royal Airforce began accepting female pilots.
He applied for a position there as a pilot and also a place on the BA-sponsored cadet programme.
“I was determined to fly one way or another,” she said.
‘As luck would have it, I was accepted for both, but then I had to make an agonizing decision.
‘I always knew I wanted to be a mother and this became the deciding factor for me. As the RAF did not offer any maternity leave at the time, I accepted BA’s offer.’
Teresa began training at the Oxford Air Training School in August of that year and earned her wings 16 months later. She has worked at BA Ella since then, during which time she has also raised three children.
She, who graduated as a pilot two years ago, flies the Airbus A320, in the photo.
Teresa, the self-confessed “Boeing girl,” serves as captain of the Boeing 787
Teresa said she is excited to see Ella wear the BA uniform she has worn for so long.
Her eldest daughter, Ella, said she has “always been in awe” of her mother, who “has juggled an incredibly rewarding but demanding career with being a fully present mother.”
Now the sky also seems to be the limit for Ella, described by her mother as “a chip off the old block.”
teresa said: ‘I get so excited when I see Ella wearing the uniform I’ve worn for so long and seeing her so comfortable in what was just my world but is now ours.
‘I love that he calls me after each trip to share anecdotes and that he understands the nuances, and I think this appreciation of each other’s surroundings has brought us even closer.
“Seeing Ella so passionate about the career she’s embarking on is everything a mother could want.”
The couple dreams of flying together on a plane one day. with teresa ‘under strict instructions’ from Ella not to withdraw before doing so.
She pictured in a simulator on a jet guidance training course at Gatwick in 2022
LEFT: Gabriella photographed on a training aircraft at Falcon Field in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2021. RIGHT: Ella and Teresa in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2017
But there could be some debate about which plane they take off on: She prefers the Airbus and Teresa confesses to being a “Boeing girl.”
And no wonder.
The mother has an impressive history with the family of airplanes, which have a yoke for maneuvering, while Airbus airplanes have a side stick.
During his career at BA, he has flown the Boeing 757, 767, 777 and the ‘iconic’ jumbo 747. Now? She is captain of the 787 Dreamliner.
For Mother’s Day, Teresa had the opportunity to show her daughter what the Boeing 787 is all about when they were invited to try out the BA plane’s flight simulator.
Teresa and Ella flew together for the first time on BA’s Boeing 787 flight simulator, above
Teresa tells Ella she’s doing “brilliantly” as she guides her through landing a Boeing 787 in the BA flight simulator. She said the experience of flying with her mother inside the simulator was “everything she wanted it to be and more.”
Footage taken from inside shows Teresa telling Ella that she is doing “brilliantly” as she guides her in landing the 223-foot (68 m) plane. and encourages her to “let it all go down” and “let it settle” moments before landing.
“Brilliant, very funny,” adds Teresa. “Look, 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 mother was “nothing like the driving lessons we used to have when I was 17”.
He praised Teresa as “an incredible captain” but joked that the Boeing plane was “much easier” to fly thanks to its “Head up Display,” which shows the pilot important flight information while also allowing him to see through the cabin window.
She praised her mother as “an amazing captain” but joked that the Boeing plane was “so much easier” to fly.
She is pictured above with her hand on the Dreamliner’s accelerator.
Flying airplanes definitely runs in the family for Ella, whose father and stepfather are also pilots.
As for his two brothers, “so far they have decided to keep their feet on the ground,” he said. “But with our family, there’s no way to know.”
But it is Teresa who appears to be Ella’s driving force, described by her daughter as “truly inspiring.”
Her mother expressed her passion for the job, as a pilot and mother, in a message to aspiring pilots.
Teresa, pictured above in the Dreamliner flight simulator, described being a pilot as “the most fabulous job for a woman” and “amazing for a family.”
“Follow your dreams and, with courage and determination, you can do it,” he assured the waiting pilots.
‘It is the most fabulous job for a woman. It’s amazing for a family.
‘You have to be a little bit of yourself. You can go and fulfill yourself.
“But also, when you come home, you have time at home where you have no other things to do besides being a mom and that’s just amazing.”