Five Endeavor Air couples share their stories of how they met, what it is like working together, and their passion for aviation.

DAVE & LORI 
Dave – Supervisor, MTX, MSP 
Lori – Inflight Learning Facilitator, HDQ 

As the saying goes, “The third time’s the charm.” When Dave and Lori Nelson met at work nearly three decades ago, their love story began after not one, but three separate “meet-cutes,” and aviation continues to weave a thread through their lives. 

How did you first meet?  
DAVE: I got hired in September of ‘96. One of the first jobs I was sent out to do was to take a look at a seat cushion that was loose on the Dash-8. When I got on board the airplane, Lori was actually [the flight attendant] on that flight, and she showed me which seat was bad. That’s the first time I met her. It was a brief encounter.  

Would you say it was love at first sight?  
DAVE: A connection, absolutely. As corny as it may sound, I think so. I met her and never asked Lori out the first time, but I was shy. Then, in the spring of ‘97, I went to take a look at some log pages, and she happened to be on board another Dash-8 airplane cleaning it. One of the ramp agents had asked if it was okay if they shut the passenger door briefly to de-ice the plane. It took about 10 to 15 minutes to spray down the plane. Lori and I got to talking, and we totally lost track of time. It was over an hour later we stopped talking. The ice truck was long gone, but we hit it off at that point. She had mentioned to me that that was her last trip, and she was heading to the training department right after that. That was the last time I saw her for a bit.  

When did you two finally make it on a date?  
LORI: We didn’t see each other for a little while and then I became a full-time instructor. I was working with a class in the hangar, and Dave happened to be in the hangar working. We reconnected that night.  

DAVE: She asked me out for coffee, and I told her, “Well, I would love to, but tonight, I am filthy with jet fuel and dirt all over me. Can we do this another night?” She said, “I don’t mind at all.” I knew she was the one for me. 

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ALEX & MARIAN 
Alex – Mgr. of Health, Safety and Environmental Compliance, HDQ 
Marian – Crew Pay Analyst, HDQ 

Marian Nassar first applied to work at Endeavor at the encouragement of her then-fiancé’s siblings. Almost three years later, her husband joined the Endeavor team as well. A family affair, with 3 siblings and 1 wife working at Endeavor’s headquarters in Minneapolis, Minn., it’s clear that it’s been a perfect match.  

How did you first meet?  
MARIAN: We met at our church in a young adult group. We hit it off there, but we’ve known of each other for our entire life, really. We never really talked before then, though.  

ALEX: We would pass by each other. We never knew each other’s names, but we knew each other existed.  

MARIAN: Our extended families were really close, like our grandparents and our aunts, but never our parents or us. So, it was kind of weird at first, since my family knows him, his family knew me.  

How did your aviation journey begin?  
MARIAN: Alex’s sister and brother were already working at Endeavor. I was a nursing student in school, but it was during COVID, and I wanted to take a pause on my schooling. I wasn’t sure what to do.  

Alex and I were engaged at the time, and his siblings said, “Oh my gosh, come work at Endeavor!” I didn’t know if that was for me since I was a nursing student who knew a lot about the medical field but nothing about working for an airline. They continued to insist, but I was still nervous.  

I thought, I’ll see where it goes. I’ve been hooked ever since and have been here for almost 3 years. If Alex didn’t say anything and encourage me, I don’t think I would’ve gone for it.  

Was that your first encounter with aviation? 
MARIAN: It’s funny looking back because things are tied to aviation. When we were first dating, Alex took me to the plane spotting park, and I wasn’t really sure about that.  

Nowadays, whenever we’re driving and see a plane, I’ll take a guess at what it is, and of course, I’m wrong. But he’ll guess where it’s going and what it is, and he’s right.  

How did Alex propose? 
ALEX: I set up a fake event at the top of the InterContinental hotel at MSP.    

MARIAN: I dressed up and everything, and I couldn’t believe he lied straight to my face! But I fell for it. He said we were going to an event, and as we got to the top of the hotel, I didn’t hear people chatting, because normally if doors are open at an event, you can hear conversation. We walked in, and there was a table in the corner. It overlooked the runway, so in all of our proposal pictures, you can see the runway in the background. 

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JENNIFER & JASON 
Jennifer – Program Mgr. 401(k), HDQ 
Jason – Avionics Technician, TYS 

Jennifer Williams found her Prince Charming from a yearbook. From there, the two have sometimes intertwined their work and personal lives, occasionally working at the same companies, but always doing different roles. After a couple moves, and a couple of kids, they now work together at Endeavor, and they are still excited to tell their story. 

How did you two first meet?  
JENNIFER: We met at a high school football game through my cousin. I was at her house looking through some of her yearbooks. It was almost like old school “swiping right or left,” but I saw this guy in there, and I said I wanted to meet him. Jason happened to be one of her friends, and my cousin said she would introduce us.  

A few weeks go by, and I get a call from my cousin saying Jason is at the football game. I drove the 30 miles, met him, and that was it. I picked him out of the yearbook.  

JASON: She was playing hard to get and acted like she wasn’t interested at all.  

JENNIFER: Well, he was too cute! I didn’t want him to let him be too full of himself or anything. And now we’ve been together for 34 years.  

Jason, you joined Endeavor in 2021, but Jennifer has been part of the airline for 15 years. What made you want to join the team?  
JASON: With her working here for so many years, I knew the company well and would sometimes travel with her when she went to the bases. I had met people, and I had been to the Knoxville base a couple times, so I knew what I was getting into.  

JENNIFER: We both really like the family feel and the culture that Endeavor has. It’s something that smaller companies have and focus on, so Endeavor has been really great to work for.  

Is the topic of work off limits at home?  
JENNIFER: I love getting his take on the frontline employee experience. I also had no idea what frontline employees’ families go through until he started working this shift. He used to work 24-hour shifts as a firefighter, paramedic, so I was used to that, but this has been a whole new world for me. It has shown me a lot, and it certainly gave me a new perspective. I always love to hear what’s going on and what Jason is working on. 

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WESLEY & MEAGAN 
Wesley – Supervisor, Crew Scheduling, HDQ 
Meagan – Supervisor, Crew Scheduling, HDQ 

For Wesley and Meagan Flores, a project Wesley was working on in Michigan brought these two back together. After reuniting, deciding to date and tying the knot five years ago, the pair is inseparable, and you can even find them working together on the bridge in the OCC.  

How did you first meet?  
WESLEY: We met in college in 2008, and we were friends for a long time before we even dated. I ended up moving back home to Michigan, where my parents live, and she went to South Korea to teach English for two years. When she moved back, we met back up.   

MEAGAN: We both didn’t have interest in each other before I moved back to the states. We had both changed and grown, so that’s when we started to develop feelings.  

What is it like working so closely with each other?  
WESLEY: When an AM shift that matched Meagan’s came open, I switched and matched her shift. On the AM shift, you start at 4:15 am, so that means we’re leaving home at 3:30 am. On the first day, we get in the car, and I started talking and having a conversation. She goes, “This is my time to get ready for the day and listen to my podcast.” We drove quietly to work then. It was just the funniest thing.  

MEAGAN: To work that early in the morning, you need to have your normal routine! In this job, we work together on the same team every day. We like to help each other and share information that we’ve learned. It feels comfortable when you have someone you can ask any stupid question to or have someone to lean on. I know not everyone thinks it’s a good idea to work together, but it’s been really good for us.  

How do you make working together more fun?  
MEAGAN: We’ll answer each other with a joke out loud or in chats, but I think the funniest part is interacting with each other with everyone else in a group chat. If Wes is saying something that’s trying to get a rise out of everyone, then I can do an eye rolling emoji or a ‘digging a hole’ emoji.  

WESLEY: It creates a really fun few minutes to break up the day, and everyone just starts laughing.  

MEAGAN: We never want anyone to feel like it’s awkward because we’re married. We always try to include people in our discussions or our jokes, and it makes it fun when you do that. People can feel free to joke with us, too. They’ll say something about him to me, or they’ll joke about me with him, and it’s not like either of us are untouchable.

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CHRISTINE & JIM
Christine – Crew Services Supervisor 
Jim – OCC Systems Administrator/Shift Manager 

Although Christine and Jim Hales both worked at Pinnacle in Memphis, Tenn., the two never met during their time there. After they both accepted jobs with Endeavor, Christine and Jim were out with coworkers when a mutual friend introduced them – and the rest is history.  

How did you first meet? 
JIM: After many people transitioned from Memphis to Minneapolis, we would go to La Fonda de Los Lobos in Eagan. There would be about 10 – 15 of us there consistently since we were all new to the area. Christine knew one of the guys who was working with me as a shift manager when I worked in scheduling, so I met Christine through him.   

What was your first date?  
JIM: Christine and I went out to a nice restaurant. After we ate, we went to see Elysium at the movie theater. After the movie finished, we knew some friends from work were going to be at La Fonda, so we met everyone for a drink to finish the night. La Fonda brought a lot of people together. We’re not the only ‘La Fonda couple’ that’s married with kids now. 

How did you get involved with aviation? 
JIM: During my time working for FedEx, I found myself working with airplanes. I was handling the weight and balance on airplanes, dangerous goods, and other things. FedEx paid for my dispatcher license, and then I joined Pinnacle Airlines shortly after completing that starting my career in aviation. 

CHRISTINE: I’ve always been interested in aviation ever since I was little. I was able to take a private pilot class to see if I had a real interest in aviation, and I did. I went to Mankato State to pursue a professional airline career, and it really laid a path for my next steps. I’ve learned more about airplanes from Jim, though, because of his dispatch experience, so that’s something I feel we share. 

JIM: Together, we have around 35 years of aviation experience, and we even named our daughter after the aircraft Christine performed her solo in – a Piper. 

Since you work opposite shifts in the OCC, do people know that you are married?  
CHRISTINE: Sometimes. When there’s a new hire or someone that doesn’t know that Jim and I both work here, people will be a little shocked when they hear. Then, most people become curious and ask what Jim looks like or if I have pictures. Sometimes it feels like they don’t believe me since they don’t see us together! 

JIM: If I do show up to headquarters while Christine is working, it can come as a big surprise. Four or five years ago, I came to the OCC with the kids when she won the Endeavor’s Elite award. They were having a celebration with cupcakes and balloons, and Christine was shocked – and for a moment scared that something was wrong. We haven’t worked the same shift together in nine years, so it can be a bit surprising when we’re both in the OCC at the same time.