Mom, 2 daughters take to the skies to work together as Southwest flight attendants

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) – A Phoenix mother and her two daughters are flying side by side in life and in their careers.

All three have more than 30 years of combined experience as Southwest Airlines flight attendants. But they’ve only flown together three times, one of which was about a week and a half ago.

Denise Campbell and her two daughters, Chantel and Charnel Johnson, have been working together for seven years.

“We started at the same time. We started in customer service and support, and we were in the same class there, and then we transferred over to being a flight attendant,” Charnel Johnson said.

The daughters said their mom’s 17-year history as a flight attendant inspires them.

“Now I’m a little bit more seasoned,” Campbell said.

Becoming a flight attendant was a dream Campbell had back in high school, but it didn’t take off until 2007.

“We decided to wait until the girls were a little bit older, and I think they were 11 and 12 when I finally became a flight attendant,” she said.

The year that the daughters began their new careers, all three took to the sky together in St. Louis on New Year’s Eve.

“It does give you a sense of pride. You think about when you were younger and what you thought they were going to do, and no, they [end up doing] the same as you,” Campbell said.

Since then, they have overlapped schedules only three times and worked holidays together in some fashion, including Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

“That way, you’re not completely missing the holidays with each other,” Campbell said.

Charnel Johnson said the tradition has helped with the loneliness the holidays often bring.

“Stuff is closed, you’re away from your family, but when you fly with your family, it makes it easier being away from home and kids,” she said.

Their most recent shift together was about a week and a half ago.

“We went to New Orleans together on a quick trip and had the time of our lives. We went to Bourbon Street,” Charnel Johnson said.

Chantel Johnson described it as a successful and fun trip that fed into their “foodie” lifestyles.

“We definitely made a trip out of it. We picked it up so that we could explore, try some new food, do something different,” she said.

They’re not quite sure when their next trip will be, but they’re hoping for it to be as soon as next month.

“It’s so much fun; it’s not work when you’re working with family,” Chantel Johnson said. “We have a great time, and we get to go out and explore new cities together.”