Former Rare Staff
Love is in the air. And for one couple, also in the airplane.
Videos by Rare
The Independent shared a very special video showing the moment 24-year-old pilot Jon Emerson gave his girlfriend, 23-year-old flight attendant Lauren Gibbs, a surprise just before Christmas.
Emerson and Gibbs boarded the same plane, which would be flying to Detroit and Oklahoma City. Emerson was scheduled to be on the flight deck while Gibbs, who’s from Nashville, Tenn., was scheduled to be in control of the cabin. The day was special as the pair was also celebrating their anniversary.
That’s when Emerson took over the pre-flight announcements.
Emerson spoke of the flight length, altitude and the likelihood of turbulence. Then he introduced Gibbs to the cabin and said, “This is a very special day for Lauren and me. It’s our anniversary today and she’s one of our very best flight attendants.”
He added, “I want this day to be known for the rest of our lives. I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
Emerson got on one knee and pulled out a ring. Gibbs agreed through tears amid “awws” and applause in the background.
The moment was captured on video by an off-duty pilot. Gibbs shared the video and a picture of the ring on Facebook.
Gibbs said she was “caught so off guard:”
Jon is a really quiet guy, with a very shy personality so for him to do it in front of passengers was so not like him, but for me it was perfect and so thoughtful. We spend almost all of our time together on planes and working together so the timing and place was absolutely perfect.
Emerson said he spent three months planning the proposal.
The couple first met on an assignment. Since that time, they’ve spent time together by using layovers as “mini vacations.” Gibbs said that having similar schedules, especially when it came to layovers, made it nice to have a pilot as a significant other.
As for the wedding, the couple would like to incorporate planes.
“However we will probably have something more quiet and smaller for our friends and family,” Gibbs added when asked if they would consider getting married on an aircraft.
