At Age 6, a Flight Attendant Let Her Pass at Snacks on a Plane. 25 Years Later, the Same Woman Pinned Her Wings (Exclusive)

Now 31, Angela Luna is preparing to begin her own career as a flight attendant

NEED TO KNOW

• Angela Luna went viral on TikTok after sharing the story of a flight attendant who made a lasting impression on her during a childhood trip
• Years later, after receiving a flight attendant job offer in 2024, the St. Louis native tracked down the same crew member who had inspired her
• The moment came full circle during training, when the woman pinned Luna’s wings as she officially began her own career in the air

When Angela Luna was 6 years old, a small moment on a flight to Florida left a lasting impression. She was traveling to Tampa with her family when a flight attendant named Kym Hughes made the trip unforgettable.

“I thought it was so cool that the flight attendants could walk around the plane,” Luna tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Kym came by and asked if I wanted to help pass out snacks, and she even gave me a plastic set of wings. My grandpa took photos of the whole thing.”

At the time — just before the 9/11 attacks, when airport security was far more relaxed — experiences like that felt especially magical.

“We used to be able to go to the gates with family and friends, and everything felt more personal,” she recalls. “I loved how she took the time to let me walk around the plane and make other people happy. That always stayed with me.”

More than two decades later, the memory resurfaced in an unexpected way. Now 31, the St. Louis, Mo., native is preparing to begin her own career as a flight attendant — and recently had the chance to reconnect with the woman who first inspired her.

The idea came back to her after receiving a conditional job offer from American Airlines in 2024.

“I found the old photos my grandpa took and wondered if she was still flying,” she says. “I thought it would be amazing if she could pin my wings when I became a flight attendant.”

She posted in a flight attendant Facebook group, hoping someone might recognize the name — and quickly got an answer.

Hughes, now a Chicago-based Southwest Airlines flight attendant, was still working after nearly three decades in the industry. In an even stranger coincidence, she turned out to be friends with one of Luna’s own friends, who also works as a flight attendant.

“It was such a small world,” Luna says. “We started texting through the whole process, and I couldn’t believe it.”

Luna later shared the story on TikTok, where the video quickly gained traction, eventually racking up more than seven million views. Not long after, the moment she had imagined since childhood finally happened. When her flight attendant training came to an end, Hughes was there to pin her wings.

“She gave me my first set when I was 6, so having her pin my wings now was surreal,” Luna says. “It really felt like everything came full circle.”

Her path to that moment, however, wasn’t simple.

Before applying, Luna had been working in news and wasn’t sure she wanted to leave journalism behind. Still, she decided to apply for a flight attendant position in November 2024 “just to see what would happen.” Out of more than 100,000 applicants, she made it to the final interview stage in Texas.

“They told us only about 2,000 people even made it to the in-person interview,” she says. “When I got the offer, I was so excited — but also nervous, because journalism had always been my dream job.”

After hiring pauses delayed training, she finally left her station in February and drove to Texas to begin the next chapter. She now plans to move to Boston, where she’ll continue flying while also attending graduate school to further her journalism career.

“It’s amazing how much flexibility this job gives you,” she says. “As a journalist, I believe everyone has a story to tell — and sometimes the best stories happen on flights or in airports.”

During training, however, she faced an unexpected loss.

“My mom passed away during my second week,” Luna says. “It was incredibly hard, but I know she would have wanted me to finish.”

The experience reminded her of her brother, who completed Marine Corps boot camp after their father died several years earlier.

“I really believe people come into our lives for a reason,” she says. “Having Kym reconnect with me and having my training class support me during that time meant everything.”

Now preparing to start flying, Luna hopes she can one day create the same kind of memory for someone else.

“I hope I can hand a kid their wings and make them feel the way I felt,” she says. “You never know what small moment might stay with someone forever.”

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