Eugene Nyavor
Identical twin brothers Alex and Alan are flying the Kenyan flag high in the United States, warming the hearts of many back at home.
Alex and Alan became pilots at Alaska Airlines in the US and are believed to be the first set of identical twin pilots at the airline.
The airlines said Alan was hired shortly after finishing his simulator training and will be based in San Francisco, while his brother Alex will be flying out of Los Angeles.
According to the airline, the brothers moved from Kenya to California when they were 13 and brought their love of aeroplanes with them.
The brothers have their parents to thank for their love of aviation.
Ever since they were three years old, they would go plane spotting with their dad every Sunday after church.
Their mom also brought them along on every business trip where they were bored with everything except the flights.
Alaska Airlines was the first choice
Alaska was the first choice for Alan when he was looking to move on from the regional airlines.
He says that working for the same company as his brother was enticing, but he was also drawn in by the people and company culture.
Now, the two say their dream is to fly with each other since they are yet to because of the complexity of operations in the field.
We’ve never flown together professionally because we’ve always been on different aircraft,” said Alex, who is a first officer.
“The goal is to have one of us upgrade to captain and be operating the same aircraft so we can fly together.”
When they can finally fly together, there is one special person who needs to be in the cabin—their mom—whom they credit as instrumental in fostering their love of aviation.
“We have to get her on one of our flights,” added Alex.
