David and Daniel Thompson are Delta flight attendants and identical twin brothers who haven’t flown together in 35 years. They recently participated in Delta’s Fly Together program, which gives flight attendant crews the opportunity to fly with family or friends who otherwise wouldn’t be scheduled to work together.  This is their story.

Growing up as identical twins, we often enjoyed observing people’s reactions when seeing us for the first time. Last week we had a chance to relive that fun while working a flight fromHonoluluto Narita/Tokyo.

When we started our careers as flight attendants in the mid-1970s at different airlines, we never imagined that 35 years later we would be working for the same company, let alone on the same flight. Delta and flying is a family business for us; David’s wife Lorraine is a Delta flight attendant, as was Daniel’s late wife Karen. Following the Delta/Northwest merger, we didn’t know if or when we would get the chance to fly together; with one of us based in Boston and the other in Honolulu, we are separated geographically more so than any other two bases. But last week, that opportunity came!

Before we even boarded the aircraft, we were getting double takes from customers in the gatehouse. We both worked in the upper deck cabin of the 747, which provides a more intimate setting. During boarding, Daniel recognized a Japanese couple from a previous flight, who were noticeably amused and entertained by the fact that this week, there were two of us. We were treated to several photo opportunities with our customers, which we loved. Interacting with our customers, especially in the BusinessElite cabin, is the best part of our job. We hope to make every flight special for them and on this particular flight they certainly made it special for us.

Our layover was interesting, as Daniel has only recently started flying to Narita; and David hadn’t worked a trip there for some 20 years. We had an opportunity to socialize with the rest of the crew, as well as friends from other bases who we hadn’t seen in years. No trip to Narita would be complete without dinner at Amare’s aka “The Awning,” a local restaurant and favorite spot among crew members.

After years of sharing flying stories with one another about our separate trips, we now have a story we can share about our first trip working together. We hope we can share many more double takes with our customers in the future.

Thanks for flying with us!

David and Daniel Thompson 

In-Flight Service