This story originally appeared on the Gents Cafe Newsletter. You can subscribe here.
I recently bought a book, published some 20 years ago, narrating the history and evolution of Air France all the way from its beginnings in the 1930s, with legendary pilots such as Jean Mermoz and Antoine de Saint-Exupery (yes, the author of the Little Prince!) who opened so many routes overseas and particularly in South America, overcoming the much dreaded Andes.
But as I turned the pages, I realised something. I wasn’t just reading about old planes and aviation pioneers – I was retracing the steps of someone much closer: my mother.
Working as a long-haul hostess for the company, she flew all across the globe for nearly three decades. New York, Rio, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Mumbai, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Tokyo were just some of her regular destinations.
Flying was not as common as today: it was the era of legendary companies like TWA and PAN AM, when pilots and flight attendants took great pride in wearing the uniforms created by celebrated fashion designers such as Balenciaga and Carven.
The pride of the uniform also extended to the rest of the family: my mother inspired me and contributed to make me the man and father I am today. As my father once said to me and my brother, after a long flight in which my mother was working while he was a passenger: “Your mum truly deserves her salary, she is very professional”. Never once did she complain, even after departing early in the morning or late at night for 12-hours shifts in a smoke-filled, men-dominated cabin.
And as I was flying to Tokyo with Air France in November 2024, my son seated beside me, the lyrics to Michael Kiwanuka’s “Tell Me A Tale” resonated in my head. I believe in storytelling as a way to connect the younger generations with family members, especially those they didn’t get the chance to meet and whose inspiring characters they should know about.
We should always tell our children who they were, where they came from and what they did. Hopefully, my young boy will remember the tales of his grandmother’s career forever, reminding and cherishing those words each time he flies.
