Mother’s Day brings to light countless heartwarming stories around the world, but few are as inspiring as that of Line-Josée Blouin and her son Hunter Preece, a mother-son flight attendant duo at Air Transat. Their story is not only about family bonds, but also about a shared passion for aviation that has propelled their careers in a truly unique way.
The summer job that never ended
Line-Josée’s journey with Air Transat began more than 30 years ago as a summer job. She was a university student at the time, trying out different subjects but not yet finding her calling. It was Hunter’s father who unwittingly set her on her life’s path by sending her resume to several airlines. “He said he wouldn’t be surprised if Air Transat called because they’re a bilingual company from Quebec, so they’d be interested in my French.”
Air Transat did call, and the rest, she says with a laugh, is history.
At this point in my life, I can’t imagine working for another airline or being in another position. At all. This is where I’m meant to be.
Line-Josée Blouin
What was supposed to be a temporary job turned into a lifelong career thanks to the lifestyle and company culture. “You either love it or you don’t, the schedules, the jet lag, the teamwork, the passenger service,” Line-Josée explains, “and for me, it was love at first flight.” Her role has grown over the years to become a flight director, but the essence of her job—bringing joy to travellers—remains unchanged.
A family thing
Following in his mother’s high-flying footsteps, Hunter’s path to becoming a flight attendant was sparked by his upbringing in the culture of travel and hospitality. From a young age, Hunter was immersed in the world of customer service, beginning with food and beverage positions in high school. His early exposure to the perks of his mother’s job, the ease of traveling abroad to discover new cultures, ignited a desire to explore a career in aviation.
The pivotal moment for Hunter came during a layover in Glasgow with his mother, which he describes as a complete eye-opener that turned his casual interest into a defined career goal.
Right at the time when I was about to graduate from high school, I thought, you know what? I want to travel the world. I want to experience new cultures. I want to see new architecture. I want to see firsthand what’s out there. And I want to get paid for it. I thought, if my mom is so happy being a flight attendant, maybe I’d be interested. So she took me on a pairing right after my 17th birthday in the fall of 2015 to see what it was really like. It was like a whole new world had opened up for me.
Hunter Preece
After high school, although he initially wanted to jump right into being a flight attendant, he heeded his mother’s advice to pursue a degree in hospitality. Hunter wasted no time in officially joining Air Transat three days after graduation.
Forming a strong bond
Their shared experiences over the years have brought them closer together, underscoring their complicity and dynamic during pairings. While they’ve worked together on a number of turnaround flights, they’ve only ever had one extended layover in Europe: Lisbon, in 2019. Hunter and his stepfather, who happens to be an Air Transat pilot, were scheduled to fly. Line-Josée was able to rearrange her own schedule so they could all fly together. They were all very happy to explore the city and have a nice dinner for the first time in Portugal!
Despite the professional setting, their personal bond shines through, sometimes humorously. Hunter sometimes slips up and calls his mother “Mama” or “LJ” on the job.
Both Line-Josée and Hunter point to Air Transat’s family-like atmosphere as an important factor that enriches their working lives and has helped them bond. This sense of community, along with a fun and caring environment, is key to their job satisfaction, a sentiment widely shared among colleagues.
A big part of why I love the Air Transat family is that every time you fly with a colleague, whether it’s on a European pairing or even just a turnaround, you may not see them again for five years, but when you fly together again, it’s like no time has passed.
Line-Josée Blouin
As they look forward to more shared skies and future adventures, possibly a stopover in Croatia, they continue to embody the spirit of Air Transat—where work feels like flying with family and every flight is a chance to make someone’s day brighter.
