A pair of “beautiful eyes” and an “innocent smile” during a flight engineering class for the 727 kicked off a near-three-decade long relationship for Walid and Cammie Nakib. Walid, a captain with Endeavor, says he was “very much taken” at their first meeting. The couple would go on to date for seven-and-a-half years, says Cammie (a first officer with Delta) before tying the knot. “We thought as pilots we would rarely be together at the same time and how could we raise a family,” explains Cammie. “But love won out and we decided we would make it work somehow.”

Ryan and Kat Pullis, both captains at Virgin America, met in Hawaii 17 years ago when Kat showed up to flight training with Ryan as the instructor. Three months into their budding relationship came the first airline-related roadblock: Ryan got his first airline job, entering the duo into a long-distance relationship. “Some initial challenges were learning the life of an airline pilot and the crazy schedules that come with that,” Ryan admits. “Also, learning how to cope with the trust issues that come with the career and distance.”

To help commemorate Valentine’s Day this year, we spoke to a selection of six pilot-pilot couples to learn more about their unique relationships. None of them proclaim to have a perfect marriage or believe that they have all the answers. Instead, their stories are meant to educate, to inspire, and hopefully even to provide a pathway for those in or considering entering into their own similar relationship. Today, meet Claude and Jennifer Buraglia.

On September 23, Women in Aviation International (WAI) chapters around the world held events to celebrate Girls in Aviation Day 2017. ALPA members were enthusiastic about pitching in to help with this important initiative to ignite girls’ enthusiasm for the aviation industry. Through its Education Committee, ALPA coordinated with WAI and provided informational materials to support local efforts. Pilot volunteers also participated in several different events to connect with young girls and inspire them to consider careers as professional airline pilots.