Captain Greg Farbo of American Airlines recently accomplished his final flight as an American Airlines pilot. The next celebrations were common for pilot retirements, including fire hoses showering the incoming aircraft, apart from one major difference. Farbo’s longtime co-pilot was his wife of 11 years, Stephanie Farbo.
Final flight as a Captain
Greg Farbo’s final flight as an American Airlines pilot was as he took control of American Airlines flight 725. This flight is from Dublin Airport (DUB) in Ireland to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina. This route, and what Farbo flew on his final flight, operates a Boeing 777 aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. As Farbo arrived at Charlotte Airport, fire hoses sprayed the Boeing 777 aircraft. The previous captain proceeded to shake hands with all 210 passengers on the aircraft and take his last walk away from the flight deck and off the aircraft just just a few days before his 65 birthday.
Photo: Tom Boon | Easy Flying
As he exited the terminal bridge, the general public address system at Charlotte Douglas International’s gate A4 made an announcement. The announcement stated,
“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Captain Greg Farbo for the very last time as he exits the jetway and enters retirement.”
Farbo had over 4 a long time of experience flying and logged greater than 30,000 hours as a pilot. This equates to flying passengers hundreds of thousands of miles across the globe to their eventual destinations. For this reason, the group gathered as Farbo left the jet bridge was large.
Retired airline captain Lori Cline was in attendance. Cline is a member of the Piedmont Silver Eagles, which is a bunch with strong ties to the unique Piedmont Airlines. Each Cline and Farbo were airline pilots for Piedmont Airlines initially of their careers. Eventually, Piedmont can be absorbed into the American Airlines brand.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Easy Flying
Along with Lori Cline in attendance, Bill Settle was also awaiting Farbo’s retirement. Settle, who can be a Piedmont Airlines alum, was Farbo’s very first flight instructor who gave Farbo his first flight lesson greater than 43 years ago. Speaking about Farbo, Settle said,
“He was an excellent student; I’m pleased for him.”
Settle, who can be a retired airline captain, also spoke about what retirement means for a pilot. He stated,
“You pour every part into your flying profession, after which it suddenly involves an abrupt end.”
Sharing the cockpit together with his wife
As Farbo retires from being an airline captain, he’ll return home to his wife and family. His wife of 11 years, Stephanie, is an American Airlines First Officer and his longtime co-pilot. Stephanie and Greg met over a decade ago once they were paired up within the flight deck on an American Airlines flight to Pittsburgh. The couple remembered it well, as Greg said,
“It was the Fourth of July, actually. There have been fireworks in every single place.”
As a typical married couple that shared the cockpit steadily, the couple admitted to often arguing while on the flight deck. Nevertheless, in addition they said that they kept the cockpit skilled and have at all times managed to work it out. The couple’s last flight together was aboard a Boeing 777 flying from Dublin to Charlotte.