Southwest Airlines pilot retires after 18 years
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — One last flight: A local Southwest Airlines pilot is hanging up his captain’s hat after 18 years as a Southwest Airlines pilot and 20 years as Lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force.
Flight 1695 will be Brian Fenelon’s last, as it departs from Albany International airport at 4:25 Thursday evening and will land in Baltimore as members of the airport rescue and fire fighting team will provide a water cannon salute as he leaves the runway.
“Never wanted to do anything else,” Fenelon said. “Flying was in my blood. No one else in my family has done any flying before me.”
Captain Fenelon always had a love and fascination for airplanes. After his dad told him he had to pay for his own flying lessons, he would mow lawns as a side gig to get it done.
“I had to start coming up with a plan to save money and that sort of thing, so about the easiest thing was to use his lawnmower, tow it behind me and going to different neighborhood doors and stuff like that,” Fenelon said.
There really wasn’t another option—he didn’t want one.
After retiring from the Air Force, Fenelon was ready to take on Southwest, but the events of 9/11 delayed his position. When he was back in the air, it was all that mattered. Just himself, his co-pilot and the sky.
“It’s just kind of a almost like, a sense of freedom,” Fenelon said. I guess you certainly get away from the ground and to get out and see things from a different perspective.”
If you’ve ever had a thought about becoming a pilot, Fenelon says you just got to go for it.
“By all means, get into it. Go out to a local airport, see if you can find a flying school that can give you an introduction to flying lessons,” Fenelon said. “Get the bug as soon as you can.”