Chris and Tristan Blair
It is little wonder Tristan Blair joined the Kenmore Air family. His dad, Chris, has been flying with Kenmore Air since before he was born. A love for planes was practically imprinted on Tristan’s DNA.
“I started working the line here, just like Tristan,” explained Chris, Tristan’s dad and Kenmore Air pilot. That was back in 1991, when Kenmore Air was still primarily flying de Havilland Beavers and Bob Munro was still running the show.
Working his way from dockhand to full-time pilot, Chris considered moving on to a bigger airline. Ultimately the joy of flying smaller seaplanes and the family-friendly schedule convinced him to stay. “When you fly for one of the big guys, you’re gone for days at a time. Here, I was able to go home to my family every night. That was really important to me,” Chris said, as the three of us stood on the dock post-flight.
The time at home was clearly well spent. Tristan is the spitting image of Chris – kind, quick to laugh, and incredibly hardworking.
“Dad would take us along when he had an empty seat. I always knew I wanted to work with planes in some way. I’m just not sure yet if I want to pursue flying them or working on them,” Tristan said.
Recently promoted to Line Crew Supervisor, Tristan’s taking some time to figure out his next move and testing his hand at fixing engines. The father-son pair can often be found working on Tristan’s classic Ford Pickup.
“That’s the nice thing about the old cars, you can practically fix anything. It’s like that with the planes here. I love seeing how things tick,” said Tristan.
Chris’ other four children (Caitlin, Cameron, Kieran, and Addison) still live locally. There aren’t empty seats often, but to this day, Chris’ kids love to ride along with dad.
