Cute: Delta Pilot Couple Retires On Same Flight | One Mile at a Time

This is really adorable, and I'm kind of sad I didn't know about this couple until their retirement flight...

We've sometimes seen airlines highlight how multiple generations are working at an airline, how a parent and child may be working together on a flight for the first time, etc.

But up until now I hadn't heard of this couple, Joe and Margrit, as both fly the Airbus A330 for Delta Air Lines. They share their adventures through Instagram (@flyingfahans), and this past week they finally retired. Joe had been at Delta for 36.5 years, while Margrit had been at Delta for 35 years, so that's a combined 71.5 years of service at the airline. Wow.

Here's a video they uploaded as they started their very last trip, from New York to Milan:

Then they uploaded a video from their two day layover on their retirement trip, as they visited Venice and Lake Como:

Then here's a video they uploaded upon completing their last flight, having arrived back in New York (this was emotional for them, as they got a surprise water cannon salute):

Kudos to both of them - what an incredible career, and even though these are tough times for the industry, it sounds like they really made the best of it.

One thing that's not known is if they were actually coming up on the retirement age, or if they decided to take one of Delta's early-out packages. Based on the fact that they had each been at the airline for 35+ years they must have been approaching retirement. Given that they retired on exactly the same flight, my guess is that they took some sort of an early-out package.

Congrats, Joe and Margrit, and here's to lots more adventures with whatever you choose to do next (it sounds like they have plans beyond retirement)!