Jetstar flight captain will never forget

Jetstar captain Phillip Morris has seen and experienced some remarkable things in his 18 years with the airline – but there’s one moment he will never forget.

Jetstar captain Phillip Morris has seen and experienced some remarkable things in his 18 years with the airline – but there’s one moment he will never forget.

The father-of-two got to fly alongside his eldest son and first officer, Luke, in February as the pair flew to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands on their first commercial plane together.

“It was a very special day and a very special trip,” Mr Morris, 51, told news.com.au.

“There are some days in your life that stand out significantly and flying with Luke on that Cook Islands trip was most definitely one of those moments.

Phillip Morris, 51, and his son Luke, 22. Picture: Today Show

“It was made even more special having my wife, Bronwyn, my other son, Daniel and Luke’s girlfriend, Em along to celebrate this milestone.”

Luke, 22, said it was a little strange at first, “but we both knew our roles” and just got into the operational side of things and “performed the duties we had to”.

Mr Morris, who is originally from South Africa and lives in Sydney, began his flight training in 1995 in Adelaide as part of the South African Airways Cadet Pilot Program.

Just like the first day of school. Picture: Today Show

After he graduated in 1997, he started flying Dash 8-300 turboprop aircraft for a regional airline in South Africa before joining South African Airways in 1999.

He and his family made the move to the Northern Beaches in Sydney in 2007 when he joined Jetstar and officially became a captain for the airline in March 2013.

“I joined Jetstar as a first officer on the Airbus A330 which was the aircraft that started up Jetstar’s international route network,” he said.

The pair got to fly their first commercial aircraft together in February to the Cooks Islands. Picture: Today Show

“It was a relatively small airline at the time with perhaps 300-400 pilots employed. I think we now have more than 1100 pilots and a significantly larger fleet of aircraft.”

And with more than 20,000 hours of flying to his name, he’s seen some extraordinary things out the cockpit window.

“The 2019 bushfires in Australia were such a tragedy. Seeing the pyrocumulonimbus cloud formations rising to above 35000ft which were formed from the massive fires was incredible and humbling,” he said.

Philip is a Jetstar captain and his son, Luke, is a first officer. Picture: Today Show

“Mother Nature always provides the craziest of visual phenomena like St. Elmo’s Fire. It is a natural phenomenon where a glowing, plasma-like discharge of electricity appears on the windshield of the aircraft.

“It occurs when flying through cloud and is visible at night. It looks like lightning but is harmless to people and aircraft.”

He said he’s yet to see the aurora australis (The Southern Lights).

“That’s a bucket list item.”

Mr Morris said, however, nothing will quite top the experience he had with Luke.

“It was a great experience flying together for the first time,” Luke said.

“All of the hard work training paid off and we could finally enjoy a flight together.”

Phillip has seen some extraordinary things out the cockpit window. Here is a view of the pyrocumulonimbus clouds. Picture: Supplied

“He’s got 20,000 hours of flying compared to my 1000 hours which means he’s learned lots along the way and it’s great having him pass on some of the knowledge, especially on the longer flights.”

Luke laughed when asked if they bickered as some may expect, adding they kept a professional yet friendly attitude.

Luke when he was a baby. Picture: Supplied

He started gliding when he was just 14. Picture: Supplied

Luke started gliding when he was just 14 before getting his commercial pilot licence at 19 years old.

“I got interested in aviation around the start of high school. I realised what my dad did for a living and suddenly thought it was pretty cool.”

He started his Jetstar training in August 2024 before flying his first commercial flight in February, alongside his dad.

He got his commercial pilot licence at 19 years old. Picture: Supplied

The pair said flying together was an unforgettable experience. Picture: Supplied

Phillip joined Jetstar in 2002 and officially became a captain for the airline in March 2013. Picture: Supplied

“The training was extensive but it made me well prepared and confident in my abilities,” he explained.

“One of the biggest challenges is learning to fly a new aircraft. Because I moved from Rex to Jetstar I needed to learn an entire new aircraft.

“This takes many months and hours of study before you can even get into the airplane and learn to fly it. Then once you start flying there is still lots to learn about the operation and places we fly. It’s a big challenge but well worth it.”

He said his goal is to have a long aviation career and gain 10s of thousands of hours flying a wide range of aircraft all over the world.

“I would love to see the world and branch out the type of flying I do. One day I would like to get into the training side of an airline and help train new pilots.”