Pilot's touching note for every passenger on his last flight
Captain Jeff Rowland retired from the skies this week after 33 years in the cockpit, and to mark the occasion he handed passengers on his last flight a special note.
The note, which was shared by LA Times reporter Sam Farmer shared on Twitter, has become an internet sensation, touching on a challenging (sometimes gruelling), but ultimately rewarding career that spanned over 10,000 flights.
“I know we sometimes look at air travel as sort of a necessary evil... to be endured,” Capt Rowland wrote. “There are things to complain about, for sure.”
Captain Rowland admitted that flying a commercial aircraft wasn’t always easy and said there were times where the aviation industry could be, “unforgiving”.
But most of the farewell was quite touching.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Captain Rowland said.
“AA only made one big mistake I can think of with me ... they paid me, and I would have done this for nothing (I think I’ll laugh all the way to the bank).”
.@AmericanAir Capt Jeff Rowland let me try out the left seat on the @Boeing 787 #Dreamliner on our trip to Dallas today. pic.twitter.com/Jqaq98k4Ei
— Tommy Thayer (@tommy_thayer) December 7, 2016
He went on: “Certainly I’ll miss flying this $200 million Boeing 787 ... But most of all I will miss serving you, my precious passengers. Transporting you to destinations all over the world, while you graciously endured my lame PA’s, critiqued every single landing and thanked me for flying, provided purpose for this lifelong endeavour.”
Captain Rowland completed the touching farewell with his family and friends riding in first class, which was capped off with a water cannon salute on the tarmac in Dallas.
What are your thoughts?