It’s a Family Affair

The Travel Academy’s Flight Attendant and Cruise instructor- Peggy Hinsch- has been in the travel industry for 23 years. In that time, she has seen many things (all 50 states, 20 countries, the Eiffel Tower, Stonehenge, Tokyo, etc.) and shared many stories.

But what some people don’t know is that her family is also very involved in the travel industry- specifically as flight attendants. Her sister Kellie and brother Hugh are currently flight attendants for Delta Air Lines. Kelly began her flight attendant career in 1989 in New York City (JFK) with Pan Am Airlines. After Pan Am went bankrupt, Kellie and Miss Peggy both attended an open house for Northwest Airlines based out of Minneapolis/St. Paul. They both left the event with invitations to attend the same training session- starting only three weeks later! Miss Peggy knew that she had gotten a great Christmas present, and that she would have to savor the upcoming holiday because she knew it would be the last one in a long time that she wouldn’t have to work.

Four years later, Miss Peggy’s brother Hugh was hired by Northwest Airlines as well. At that time, NWA was only hiring people who were bilingual. He speaks French as well as English.

Naturally the siblings’ parents were very proud to have three of their children working as flight attendants for a major airline. Peggy and Kellie were even fortunate enough to work a few flights together. One time, Peggy saw her brother while she was flying as a passenger on her day off. She also had the honor of pinning on his wings at formal ceremony!

Years ago, many airlines would not hire siblings. But in the early 90s, luckily for Peggy, there was no policy in place preventing siblings from getting hired together, and she’s happy that she had the opportunity to work with her brother and sister!