A plane-obsessed 11-year-old was given a day he'll never forget after writing a sweet email to TUI to say his 'dream job' was to be one of their pilots. After a holiday in Mexico plane-spotter Will Halsall wrote to the airline explaining how he was already having flying lessons and collects TUI memorabilia at home.
"You have been my favourite airline for a very long time now and you have never let me down with your flights," wrote Will. "Your airline is always going to be my favourite, keep doing what you doing and keep up the great work."
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The cute message caught the eye of TUI managing director Captain Malcolm Sutherland, who invited Will to Manchester Airport for his own personalised tour. There he met pilots and crew, was given a rundown of a flight plan, took a trip around the runways and got to sit in the cockpit of a TUI flight just before it departed for Hurghada in Egypt.
Will, from Cronton, near Widnes in Cheshire, described the experience as 'amazing... I loved it so much."
The schoolboy, who fell in love with planes as a toddler, is a regular at the viewing platform at Manchester Airport and says his favourite plane is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. And he's already taking steps to realise his dream of becoming a pilot, having had about half a dozen flying lessons in Liverpool.
He said: "I just love how planes get into the air. [When I'm flying] it feels like like I am the boss of the plane - like I could do anything.
"TUI has been my favourite airline since I loved planes. I love seeing them in the sky and on the ground. I am one of TUI's biggest fans - I have loads of stuff on their planes."
Capt Malcom said he was blown away by William's aviation knowledge. He said: "William's passion for flying really resonated with us. Probably from being about six or seven my dad took me to my first airshow and that was it - after that I was hooked and it's been a passion ever since.
"It was something I've always wanted to do. In William we saw someone who had that same passion. And it's fantastic to see the progress he's already made.
"That passion is still there whenever I go flying. It really is a special vocation. There's nothing to touch it."
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