Soaring Delroy Patterson dreams of taking parents on flight
Published:Monday | April 1, 2024 | 12:06 AMRochelle Clayton/Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
DELROY PATTERSON’S parents walked so he could fly.
And after five years of living his dream as a pilot in the United States of America, they stood proudly and watched as he landed at Sangster International Airport (SIA) in Montego Bay for the very first time last Thursday afternoon.
Patterson, 29, is now a first officer at Southwest Airlines, but his journey to attaining this goal began decades ago when he was a young boy in Sandy Bay, Hanover.
He told The Gleaner that he had always dreamed of becoming a pilot, and watching as aircraft flew by his home became a favourite pastime activity.
“Growing up, my father used to work for Versair In-Flight Services Limited at the Sangster International Airport, and he brought home a model of the Air Bus 340 that Air Jamaica used to fly,” Patterson explained.
“I am from Sandy Bay in Hanover, so where the planes turned to ‘final’ is where I lived and I would always see it,” he added.
Though he was armed with the ambition and drive needed to see his dream come to fruition, Patterson told The Gleaner that he did not believe it was possible for him to become a pilot.
Patterson, however, said that this view changed after he graduated from Herbert Morrison Technical High School in St James in 2011.
“I didn’t think it was a possibility, but all of that changed when I moved to Kingston to do sixth form at a school called Quality Academics. I started looking into flight schools on the island,” said Patterson.
His first attempt at flight school turned out to be a disappointment as Patterson said he soon realised that it was a scam. However, he was not discouraged. With faith the size of a mustard seed, he was determined to succeed and make his parents proud.
“I stopped going and took a few years off, then my parents were able to find the money to send me to flight school in America in 2016,” he said.
At the age of 21, Patterson boarded an airplane destined for Florida, where he enrolled in the 2Fly Airborne flight school.
This, he told The Gleaner, would change the trajectory of his life, and the student would soon become the teacher.
“I got all of my licences - private, instrument and commercial. It took me a while to get my commercial licence because I ran out of money, but I ended up getting money to finish and I became an instructor,” he said.
Patterson taught others how to fly airplanes for approximately two years before deciding to soar to greater heights.
“I went to a regional company called SkyWest Airlines. It flies for United, Delta, American and Alaska, so they have contractual agreements where we fly the feeder routes for the major airline. I used to fly the CRJ 200, 900 and 700. I did that for two years and then I upgraded to the Embraer 175, where I was a captain for a year and a half,” he explained.
Just like an airplane, Patterson is always seeking new destinations to spread his wings.
“I felt like I had done everything that I wanted to do with that airline, so I moved on to Southwest. Now I am a first officer at Southwest Airlines as of November 28, 2023,” said the proud pilot.
Though he has flown to five countries so far, Thursday’s trip to Montego Bay will always be etched in his mind, Patterson told The Gleaner.
“I was nervous and excited at the same time because it was my first time landing there. The captain that I was flying with made an announcement that it’s my first time landing here in Jamaica and flying here as well,” said Patterson.
The icing on the cake, he added, was knowing that his proud parents were anxiously waiting to watch him land on his home soil.
“My parents were videoing the landing from outside as well. It was a great experience. I was filled with excitement. It was nice to be back home, even for an hour,” said Patterson.
“My dad was extremely proud. My mom also took the time off from school to see me land. She sacrificed her career [for] me and my sister, so she didn’t go to university. She became a stay-at-home mom, and my dad was the main breadwinner. She is in her final year at UTech (University of Technology) getting her degree in nursing,” he explained.
With his dream now a reality, Patterson is hoping that his parents will be upgraded to his passengers on his next flight from Jamaica.
“The next goal for me is to see if I can find a trip that goes from Baltimore to Montego Bay, so, on the flight back, I can fly them from Jamaica to the States,” he told The Gleaner.