My Final Flight: Her Greatest Fear

By Capt. Chris Potts (Delta, Ret.)
Capt. Chris Potts celebrating his final flight with, from left, daughter Aly, wife Barb, and daughter Mikki.

My final flight was from Tel Aviv, Israel, to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport on Dec. 5, 2012. My wife was on board, and I made a lengthy announcement to the passengers on descent. She asked me for a year afterward if I remembered what I said. I put off answering her until the following Christmas, when I wrote it down for her as a gift.

Yes, I told her, I remembered every word. I worked on what I was going to say for several months. I wanted to honor the dream I lived and the sacrifices she and our family made that allowed me to live that dream. I expected that the passengers would politely listen but mostly ignore my personal comments. So I spoke the words primarily for me and her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.” I provided the weather and an ETA, then asked for their patience.

“I’m going to ask you to indulge me for a few minutes while I tell a story, and of course this story is about me. When I was 14, I took my first ride in an airplane. From that moment, all I ever wanted to be was an airline pilot. For my 17th birthday, my parents gave me flying lessons, and I took my first lesson on July 4, 1970—a very long time ago.

“I went to school, worked hard, and in 1979 my dream came true when I was hired by Northwest Airlines. I worked for Northwest for 30 years; and since the merger between Northwest and Delta, I’ve been wearing a Delta uniform. If you wonder why I’m boring you with all this, it’s because several months ago I decided it was time to retire. When we land at JFK and taxi to the gate, I’ll shut down the engines one last time and be officially retired as a Delta Air Lines pilot. So this is a very special flight for me.

“Making it even more special, my wife of 27 years, Barb, is on board. Those of you who travel for a living know how hard it can be on the person who stays behind. They have to take care of everything in your absence, and my wife is the best at doing that. Over the years, she’s had to deal with things like downed trees, broken pipes, furnaces that quit on the coldest day of the year, cars that wouldn’t start, and taking kids to the emergency room—not to mention all the holidays, birthdays, teachers’ meetings, and special events that she had to take care of all by herself while I was on the road earning a living.

“Honey, I just want to say how grateful I am for everything you’ve done for me and our two girls for the past 27 years. I love you and promise from this day forward I’ll never leave your side. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, I’m going to be right beside you, helping you make all the decisions you’ve been making so well for the past 27 years.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is her greatest fear.

“Thanks again to everyone for joining us, and if you’re leaving the Delta system here in JFK I hope you have a great day. Travel safe wherever you’re going and come back and see us again.”

It turns out I was wrong in thinking the passengers would ignore my comments. Nearly everyone congratulated me, and many had a tear in their eye as they got off the airplane. An Army colonel shook my hand with tears running down his cheeks. It turned out to be one of the most memorable moments of my career.


Retired Pilots: Share Your Final Flight

Do you have a story worth sharing of your final flight? It can be about the emotions that ran through you, something special or unique that happened during the flight, reminiscences about a successful career, or a look back at the evolution of the industry as you sat in the cockpit. Get more information and submit your story.

This article was originally published in the March 2019 issue of Air Line Pilot.

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