The sky’s the limit for this family — literally.
A Utah-based TikToker shared what it’s like having a father and brother as pilots and a mother as a flight attendant — all for the same airline.
Skylar Horanyi, 26, is the only member of her immediate family that is not working for United Airlines but still gets to indulge in the perks offered to her kin, including free travel, upgrades to first class, and airport lounge access.
“Since we don’t pay for flights we don’t have confirmed seats and we only get on the flight if there are open seats available,” Horanyi explained in one of her videos.
Though the luxury of flying for free sounds more than appealing, the TikToker — known as @thepilotsdaughter — shares that traveling on standby can be stressful.
“We checked the seat map and saw a few seats available so we decided to take a chance and try for the flight,” she says in the video with her boyfriend as they were trying to travel from Salt Lake City to Denver.
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Horanyi explained that they had “absolutely no idea if we would make it on the flight or not” after checking the low availability of seats prior to arriving.
Fortunately for the frequent flyer family member and her boyfriend, they were able to snag a seat in the exit row and “even got to sit next to each other.”
In another video, Horanyi explained how flying on standby alters her travel plans with the uncertainty that comes with not being assured a seat.
“Sometimes we have to travel through different cities, and connect through multiple cities, just to get to our final destination,” the TikTokerrevealed.
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@thepilotsdaughter Replying to @user9033926989708 drop your standby questions below! #standbylife #standbytravel #airlinetiktok #aviationfamily #airlinefamily
♬ original sound – thepilotsdaughter
Flying standby has also made it challenging to grab a flight to a destination months in advance.
She explained that a person trying to fly standby hoping to hop on a flight they’ve been eying could end up completely booked at the last minute.
In another TikTok, Horanyi shared that she and her mother — while off duty — took a trip to London for her 25th birthday with her pilot father captaining the plane.
Before taking off, she got to kick back in the United Club lounge at San Francisco International Airport, and since the flight was fairly empty, she and her mother upgraded to first class.
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In a separate video, Horanyi told the soul-stirring story of her parents, high school sweethearts who have been together since they were 18.
After moving to New Jersey in their early twenties, the two love birds started their career in the sky with the now-closed People Express Airlines.
Continental Airlines acquired People Express Airlines only to merge with United Airlines in 2012.
Horanyi’s parents have been up-in-the-air for 40 years out of the 46 they’ve been together.
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Inspired by his parent’s love for the clouds, Horanyi’s brother decided to pursue a career as a pilot at 25, with the TikToker saying he was one of the youngest aviators to work for United when he started.
Though family members of United employees can fly for free until 26 years old, Horanyi’s mother haslisted her as her “companion”so she can continue gazing down from the clouds for free.
When one commenter asked the TikToker if she had any plans on following in the family trade, she revealed there would be “big shoes to fill after my dad and brother” if she decided to become an aviator.
“I actually work in marketing now. Maybe one day I’ll work for United’s marketing team,” she replied in the comment section of one of her videos.
Others pointed out the uniqueness of her first name being Skyler — some wondering if it was international given the aviation theme.
“My friends call me Sky! Very fitting,” she commented back to one user who said they loved her name.
