Flight attendant Cynthia Heck finished up the safety demonstration and walked through the cabin, confirming passengers were ready for takeoff.
She took a moment to smile and greet each traveller individually. Fellow flight attendant Hannah Heck watched on, admiringly. Then, Hannah made a spontaneous announcement over the speaker.
âDoes everyone see this sweet little lady wearing the life vest? Thatâs my grandma. So everyone better be extra nice to her,â she said.
The passengers laughed, some clapped. Many looked at Cynthia disbelieving, struggling to imagine she had an adult granddaughter.
A few minutes later, Hannah was doing her safety compliance checks, and Cynthia took the opportunity to grab the microphone and cheekily retaliate.
âEveryone, ask Hannah who did her laundry last night,â Cynthia said, over the loudspeaker.
This announcement got an even bigger reaction than the first, and confirmed to the passengers that this duo were - for sure - related.
âEveryoneâs laughing,â Hannah tells CNN Travel today. âShe gave the energy right back to me.â
Working together
Cynthia, 72, has worked as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines for almost 20 years. Her granddaughter Hannah, 24, decided to follow in her footsteps following a year of feeling unfulfilled at college.
Cynthia always remembers the moment 19-year-old Hannah called her up and said she was quitting college and interested in flying. The two have always been close. Cynthia was encouraging, and Hannah felt seen â as always â by her grandmother.
âAfter I had graduated from high school, I wasnât sure what I wanted to do. But I thought, âI think I want to go travel, I think I want to do what my grandma does.ââ
Not long after, Hannah started working for Mesa, a regional US airline. After a few years, she applied to Southwest.
When Hannah got her acceptance notice, she was overjoyed. Cynthia was equally delighted. No one else in the Heck family works in aviation, but the rest of Hannahâs family were all pleased she would be following in her grandmotherâs footsteps.
Around this time, Hannah moved in with her grandparents. This meant Cynthia and Hannah would both be operating out of the same airport: Harry Reid Las Vegas Airport.
âI was just so excited,â recalls Hannah. âAnd hoping that we would be able to fly together.â
Cynthia was present at Hannahâs flight attendant graduation in 2022 and pinned on her granddaughterâs wings.
And unbeknown to Hannah, behind the scenes, Cynthia was also plotting to make sure sheâd be on her granddaughterâs first Southwest flight.
âI wasnât going to tell,â recalls Cynthia. âAnd then she saw it two or three days before.â
âI saw it. And so I was just overwhelmed with happiness that she was able to pick it up,â says Hannah.
Working together for the first time was surreal and exciting for Hannah and Cynthia.
âI couldnât believe it. I looked at the back and sheâs standing there making the announcements or weâre serving our drinks together. It was incredible that we got to work together,â recalls Hannah. âWe were laughing. We had a great time. It was super special to share that with her and to have her there with me for my first flight.â
It was a long, multi-leg trip â the type Cynthia, with her years of seniority at the airline, usually avoids nowadays. She made an exception for Hannah.
âI told her, I said, âYour grandma doesnât commute anymore.â I had to commute to Oakland to work that trip. It was five legs up and down California. I said, âI donât do five legs up and down California,ââ recalls Cynthia. âAnd then it was a short Hawaii overnight. I said, âI donât do short Hawaii overnights. But Iâm doing it for you.ââ
Learning from each other
Cynthia started flying in the early 2000s, after she and her husband relocated from the midwest to Las Vegas. She spotted a Southwest ad in the newspaper and spent three years working as ground staff before moving inflight.
While Cynthia worked other jobs in the past, and spent years bringing up her kids, Hannah only ever knew her grandmother as a flight attendant, travelling the world.
âSince I was little, all Iâve ever known is her to be flying,â says Hannah.
She loved hearing her grandmotherâs stories about her job, and has fond memories of flying with her during her summer vacations.
âI always loved to go fly with her and come visit her in Vegas,â says Hannah. âI was very impressed with her. I was in awe that she was flying all around and travelling for work.â
When Hannah was in second grade, she invited Cynthia to come and speak at her school.
âShe wore her Southwest uniform and sang a song. I was so proud to have her there. Everyone in my class was in awe of my flight attendant grandmother,â says Hannah.
But while Hannah always thought Cynthiaâs job was glamorous and exciting, she also saw the tougher sides to flight attendant life.
Often her grandmother would have to work holidays and skip the family Christmas gatherings. It was clear the role was equal parts hard work and equal parts fulfilling.
Hannah was grateful to have these insights when she eventually followed in her grandmotherâs footsteps and started flying too. Cynthia was also keen to pass on wisdom to her granddaughter.
âI keep telling Hannah, âWe fly all the time. So everythingâs pretty simple and easy for us. These passengers, sometimes they just fly once a year,ââ says Cynthia. âAnd so you have to take that into consideration â youâve got to help these people. Youâve got to show them the way, they have questions, youâve got to show some compassion.â
Hannah says Cynthia brings this empathy to every aspect of her life, and itâs always inspired her.
âThatâs one thing that she has taught me â sheâs just so compassionate, and so quick to help anyone. I see it when weâre working or outside of work. She really has the best heart,â says Hannah.
Special relationship
Cynthia and Hannah worked together a handful of times in 2022. It was on their second flight together that they made the tongue-in-cheek inflight announcements about one another â and they soon learned that whenever travellers discovered they were related, it sparked a reaction.
One passenger gave them a Starbucks gift card. Another passenger told Cynthia sheâd spotted their story â posted on the Southwest Airlines social media accounts â and it moved her to tears.
Many people spoke about how they hadnât been able to spend any time with their grandparents as an adult. For them, seeing Cynthia and Hannah together was moving and bittersweet.
Hannahâs now relocated to Houston, Texas, so sheâs not likely to fly with Cynthia nowadays. But she visits her grandmother in Las Vegas frequently, and when the two women speak with CNN Travel via Zoom, theyâre sitting together in Cynthiaâs living room, making plans to pick up a flight together the following day.
Beyond travelling and flying, the two women share a love of sewing and cooking â both skills Cynthia taught Hannah when she was young. They love talking to one another and sharing stories.
âItâs just a really special relationship that we have. Weâve always been close. So now weâre doing the same thing, I think weâre even closer,â says Hannah.
Hannah credits Cynthia not only with inspiring her to pursue an aviation career, but also with supporting her throughout her childhood. Hannahâs parents divorced when she was young, and Cynthia says she always tried to be âthe flexible one, that could take her to gymnastics or dance.â
âShe made me feel like everything was going to be fine, because I had her,â says Hannah. âWithout her, I wouldnât be where I am at all. Sheâs just supported me since I was little.â
Hannahâs still at the beginning of her flight attendant journey, and looking forward to all the travels and adventures sheâs got ahead of her. By her own admission, Cynthiaâs nearing the end of her career â although because she loves working so much, sheâs reluctant to retire.
âYou get addicted to the job and itâs going to be hard, I think, for me to quit,â she says.
Whenever Cynthia does retire, Hannah hopes to be on her grandmotherâs final flight â and hopes her father, brother and grandfather will join them too.
âThat will be special,â says Hannah. âBut I donât want to think about it. Because in my head, sheâs going to be flying forever.â
âThey think Iâm going to be around forever. And I keep telling them Iâm not going to be around forever,â says Cynthia.
For now, Hannah and Cynthia are just focusing on the present and the time they get to spend with one another.
âI know a lot of people donât get this experience. And I know that sheâs not going to be flying forever. So just having gratitude and just lots of love for this â happiness, gratitude, because I know itâs so special that we got to fly together,â says Hannah.
âJust appreciate your family, appreciate your grandparents, tell them that you love them. And thank them for everything that they have done for you. Because nothing is forever.â