Black Identical Twins Make History As First Officer Pilots At Alaska Airlines

Twin brothers, Alex and Alan, are both living out their dreams in aviation at the same airline.

Last week, Alaska Airlines announced its recruitment of a new pilot who just so happens to have an identical twin. The major airline is stunned by the revelation attributed to the new hiring — the twins are both Alaska Airlines First Officers.

We’re feeling twinspired! 🤩🤩 Alex and Alan are identically gifted first officers. Find out how Alaska’s FIRST set of twin pilots are following their dreams to fly together! https://t.co/942nxgu37V pic.twitter.com/GCdY6Sbopc

— Alaska Airlines (@AlaskaAir) July 25, 2022

The airline is convinced that the hiring of identical twin pilots is a first in its nearly century-old history. This might be so, but the twins recognize that the accomplishment is a reflection of their childhood experiences. They have their parents to thank for their love and admiration for aviation.

According to the airline, Alex and Alan’s father used to take his three-year-old sons plane-spotting every Sunday after church, and their mother took them along on business trips. After relocating from Kenya to California, 13-year-old Alex and Alan developed a deeper love for airplanes.

The brothers’ mother further supported their passions by gifting them a Microsoft Flight Simulator.

“After I started playing with the program, that was it. I knew I wanted to do that [fly] for a job,” Alan told Alaska Airlines in a statement.

Alan, who just completed simulator training, will be based in San Francisco, while his brother Alex, who was originally with Alaska Airlines, flies out of Los Angeles.

For Alan, choosing Alaska was a no-brainer, considering its people and company culture.

“When I was working as a fueler, Alaska employees — whether it was pilots or people working across the operation — were always the nicest people who reached out to encourage me,” Alan explained.

Alex echoed his brother’s appreciation: “Alaska is like a family — you’re not a number.”

To date, the twin pilots have never accompanied one another in the same cabin as professional pilots, but hope that day will come.

“We’ve never flown together professionally because we’ve always been on different aircrafts,” said first officer Alex.

“The goal is to have one of us upgrade to captain and be operating the same aircraft so we can fly together.”

The pair is also looking forward to inviting their mother on board.