Father Reunites with Flight Attendant Daughter on Six Different Flights for Christmas

By Talbert Toole
Lifestyles Editor
talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com

Hal Vaughan pins flight attendant pin on daughter Pierce. Photo courtesy of Pierce Vaughan.

The holidays can be a hectic time for families, especially those running to terminals and gates at an airport to catch a flight home. However, for one father the sacrifice of booking six different flights was worth it to spend time with his flight attendant daughter who is a graduate of the University of Mississippi.

Pierce Vaughan grew up in Ocean Springs, Mississippi surrounded by a loving family. Her mother, Kimberly, was a stay-at-home mom while her father, Hal, worked until he retired when his daughter was in middle school.

Vaughan said she and her parents are accustomed to spending time together due to their close connection except this year would have been different due to her busy schedule of flying across the states and overseas as a flight attendant.

Vaughan posed in front of the Amsterdam airport sign. Photo courtesy of Pierce Vaughan.

After graduating from Ole Miss in 2016 with a degree in hospitality management, Vaughan took an internship that would send her down under in Australia. Her experience overseas taught her to focus on living in the moment, she said. From that moment she knew she would rather spend time in her younger years traveling the world and experience different cultures.

“I realized I didn’t want to wait until I was retired from some corporate ladder-climbing job to start traveling the world,” Vaughan said.

Now that she is a globetrotter, Vaughan’s schedule can sometimes be hectic. She said some fights land her in London whereas some have her dealing with 8-hour layovers in cities like Little Rock, Arkansas — but that comes with the territory, she said.

Since it is Vaughan’s first year flying, she said she was not surprised when she was scheduled to work over the Christmas holiday. One can expect to work most holidays and weekends since the airline industry is seniority based, she said. Vaughan said she knew she would miss her family over the holidays, but figured that the family would take part in a Facetime video chat to make her absence as painless as possible.

“I just hoped I would at least have a decent trip with a nice layover or something,” Vaughan said.

Her trip took a drastic, heartwarming change when she realized she would be spending a layover in Hartford, Connecticut with her father.

Hal Vaughan on one of the six flights he booked to spend time with his daughter. Photo courtesy of Pierce Vaughan.

Since the majority of restaurants and stores were closed due to the Christmas holiday, Vaughan and her father enjoyed a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant in a nearby casino.

“My dad really got to experience life as a flight attendant,” Vaughan said.

The Vaughan family typically spend each Christmas with each other whether it is in their home on the Mississippi coast or in Australia visiting their daughter, and this year would be no different.

Vaughan said she was elated when her dad surprised her with six booked flights on her flying schedule.

“Originally assuming I would be alone had put a damper on my holiday plans,” she said. “So to find out my parents had talked this all out for me was amazing.”

The story of the daughter/father reunion went viral across social media and several national publications including The New York Times and People Magazine. The Vaughan story was first acknowledged by flight passenger Mike Levy who sat next to Vaughan’s father on one of his six flights.

Levy posted on Facebook on Dec. 24 of the reunion between the father and daughter. Levy told HottyToddy.com that he was happy he could share such a heartwarming story. He has received positive messages from across the globe since his post caught world attention.

Mike Levy first posted his experience with the father, daughter duo on Facebook December 24. Photo via Facebook.

After being able to share such a loving reunion between Vaughan and her father, Levy now keeps in contact with the both of them, he said. The experience led to a friendship between the three. Levy said the Vaughan family has even invited him to visit their home on the coast.

“It’s just a wonderful way to end the year,” Levy said.