Falling In Love One Flight At A Time – Chris Cruises

Simply mates — that’s all Rafael and Kenia Sanchez have been.

No actually. Simply mates.

They met as managers on obligation for the afternoon shift on the Dallas-Fort Value Worldwide Airport (DFW) ramp in 2022. “We ran a reasonably tight ship,” Rafael mentioned. “There was no considered courting.”

Three years and 40,000 standby miles later, they’re much greater than mates. They’re a husband and spouse in love with one another and their 1-year-old daughter — they usually credit score their American Airways journey privileges with their love story.

‘The one for me’

Kenia and Rafael’s friendship became extra shortly after Kenia began a brand new function as the overall supervisor at Minneapolis–Saint Paul Worldwide Airport (MSP) in December 2023. Two of their mates from DFW have been getting married, and Kenia flew again for the marriage.

“We determined to go to the marriage collectively,” Kenia mentioned. “For the primary time we had a dialog that didn’t simply pertain to work and acquired extra private.”

The chums found they’d much more in frequent than they’d realized. They each got here from humble beginnings, and each felt the load of household obligations.

“I knew that weekend that she was the one for me,” Rafael mentioned. “I’d all the time identified she was candy and sort, however I didn’t know that facet of her.” Within the coming days, they texted one another each day, and Rafael booked a flight to Minneapolis for his or her official first date only one week after the marriage.

“My first evening there, I requested Kenia to be my girlfriend,” Rafael mentioned. The subsequent day, they went to brunch, walked by way of a snowy metropolis park and put up Kenia’s Christmas tree.

“He was so totally different than some other relationship I’ve had,” Kenia mentioned. “Not solely was he a gentleman, however he made me really feel I may let my guard down with him and let him handle me.”

American’s journey privileges permit crew members and their eligible vacationers to fly without cost or at discounted charges throughout American’s community and on some accomplice airways. So Rafael was simply in a position to return to MSP each single break he had for the subsequent 10 months to go to Kenia. When he did the mathematics, Rafael realized he’d traveled 40,000 miles in lower than a 12 months.

“Due to American Airways, we have been in a position to maintain our spark alive one standby flight at a time and our love grew stronger,” he mentioned.

Passing on the love of journey

On Could 25, 2023, Kenia’s birthday, Rafael stunned her by proposing in entrance of their households, however an even bigger shock got here the next week. The couple was overjoyed to seek out out they have been anticipating.

Kenia organized along with her leaders to return to her earlier function at DFW to be nearer to Rafael and their households, and the couple married that fall. They welcomed their daughter, Khloe, the next January.

“I’ve this treasured little life that was so sudden,” Kenia mentioned.

Now the brand new dad and mom are doing what any good airline dad and mom do: They’re introducing Khloe to her American journey privileges.

Khloe has since traveled to Good, Monaco, Disney World, in addition to Nicaragua and Puerto Rico, the place Kenia and Rafael’s households are from, respectively. “I need my daughter to know the place she comes from and what we do,” Kenia says. “American has performed an enormous a part of our lives, and we’re so grateful and grateful.”