Hang on standby
Hi Liz, hi Joe I'm Lisa from British Airways I know today is a really special day for you
so we're here to add a bit of BA Magic Joe and I were both at university together,
we did the same course We stayed friends after university and we
used to meet up from time to time Are you excited, we're off to Dublin
I hear you've got some family over there as well
Yes, a lot of family Joe went overseas to Sydney about the same
time I moved to Hong Kong, but every now and again we'd find ourselves in the same city
and we'd always catch up for a drink or dinner So this is our first surprise of the day
Wow this is amazing Good
This is amazing Our friendship became more and 8 months later
I moved down to Australia to join Joe and we got married in 2009
So it was June 2014 and it was one of those things where your life just changes without
any warning One day everything is fine and the next day
Joe suffered a severe bleed on his brain from an aneurism that ruptured
So just like that our life changed A couple of days later I was actually told
that Joe wouldn't survive it was a terrifying time and Joe had to endure four operations
on his brain We've got some family and friends messages
to you so you can watch on the way No way
Hey Liz, hey Joe, have a fantastic time in Dublin
Joe, delighted to hear you're off to Dublin, have a great holiday, another milestone in
your recovery We miss you so much
Have a great time We're so proud of you, well done, hope it
goes well and you have a great holiday, love you lots, bye
I heard about the BA Magic campaign and I just thought wow
He's worked so hard, so, so hard at improvement, recovery and I just thought if we could make
this special for him, he deserves it We're going to be taking you through our First
wing, which is normally reserved for our first class customers and Gold card holders, but
today we'd like to welcome you through Welcome Joe and Liz
This is very special Beautiful
Travelling has been a massive part of our lives and it's something that we lost really
Cheers Congratulations
Thank you Most of my extended family are in Ireland
I used to love my holidays there with my cousins playing in the fields, climbing trees
As my first flight, it's a very, very special place to go
Since going home, I've been itching to fly again
And it's happening today Captain Ben was there to greet us, and when
he got on the plane, he asked Joe would be mind turning left
Joe welcome to the flight deck, this is one of our Airbus A320s that we're taking you
off to Dublin to today It meant so much for me to be able to give
Joe recognition really for how far he's come It's my privilege on behalf of British Airways
to invite you to our multi million pound simulator centre here at Heathrow
Wow Long term I think about living back in Australia
if it works for us but that's a long way down the track
So obviously to be able to get there, I need to be able to fly so this is about proving
that I can tolerate flying Today we're welcoming on board a very special
customer, Joe Dowd Joe was a frequent flyer with us but he hasn't
been able to fly for quite some time This is his first flight back, we would like
to welcome Joe on board Thank you very much
We're there We got to Dublin and we touched down and Joe's
lovely aunt and uncle, Richard and Anne were there to meet us
Here he is Hello
I'm so happy you're here, it's so good to see you
I've had the Royal treatment Joe and Liz, we've got one more surprise for
you We know that Australia is very dear to your
heart so we wanted to give you a little gift so it's two Club seats to Sydney
Oh my god Oh my god
This has been an amazing day, just amazing I can't explain today, it's just been beyond
amazing It was do or die with flying could my injured
body tolerate flying and I did and I can This is exciting
Liz had said to me don't give up on your dream of flying and I never had and it was the most
incredible experience I'm so grateful to BA for making it unique
and special The rest of my life is the best of my life
