‘I’d go fly an airplane all day!’ Delta pilot’s lifelong passion, from a Cessna 150 to the A320 cockpit

Delta First Officer Tom Cohan says he would spend an entire day flying, a remark that captures the tone of a new Delta News Hub profile focused on the people who keep the airline running. In an interview with Delta’s EVP and Chief People Officer Allison Ausband, Cohan credits his steady draw to aviation with starting long before his career at a major carrier, and he emphasizes that the relationships on the flight deck matter as much as the flying itself.

Cohan, based in Salt Lake City, traces his start to a family connection. His older brother, who is also a pilot, encouraged him after earning his own pilot’s license and taking him for a flight when the two were living in a horse barn. Not long after, a neighbor sold a small Cessna 150, which Cohan describes as the catalyst for turning curiosity into a practical education in both flying and aircraft upkeep.

To buy that first airplane, Cohan said he sold two cows he owned and paid $4,800. He learned how to fly the Cessna 150 and also how to work on it. He said his family continues to fly and maintain Cessnas, adding that the airplane bought in 1986 remains in use, including a separate Cessna 150 for his brother and an additional one kept for parts.

The profile also shows how Cohan kept pursuing aviation when his original dream path ran into a roadblock. Cohan said he was drawn to the idea of becoming a military pilot, joking that he was “a victim of the first ‘Top Gun’ movie,” but he said a lack of 20/20 vision ended that route.

Instead, Cohan described taking a more incremental approach by working as a maintenance technician while logging the hours needed to become a professional pilot. Delta’s profile presents the maintenance work as a bridge between aspiration and qualification, reinforcing the idea that aviation careers often grow from both technical experience and sustained training over time.

When Ausband asked what attracted him to Delta, Cohan pointed first to the airline’s brand and said he had flown on Delta as a youngster and liked the operation. He then shifted to what he called the airline’s people culture, including a specific example: he cited the way flight attendants can organize to support major initiatives, such as buying a 767 for a company.

Cohan said he tries to build camaraderie with the flight crew by setting a tone early. He described introducing himself and emphasizing that the crew operates as one team, using a simple message: if they are behind, everyone is behind, and the goal is shared responsibility for keeping customers safe and satisfied. He also said he tries to surround himself with quality individuals, calling that approach “pretty easy” at Delta.

In advice aimed at new pilots, Cohan returned to the central theme of the profile: people. He told Ausband that a lot of effort from those who came before makes the airline a “nice place” to work, and he urged newcomers to respect that foundation. He also said taking an interest in others’ stories is a practical way to make work life more meaningful, adding that the biggest thing at Delta is the people.

The interview ends with lighter details, including Cohan’s favorites. He said Reno, Nevada is home, and outside of home he has tried to see interesting places, noting that he has visited most of the West Coast of North America from Alaska down, calling the scenery among the most breathtaking he has seen. He also named mustard pretzels as his preferred on-board snack, joking that afterward he needs a new tie because they are “addicting.”

The company’s post, while detailed about Cohan’s motivations and philosophy, leaves several practical career specifics unaddressed. It does not lay out the timeline of his training path, the exact steps and dates between maintenance work and professional qualifications, or any operational metrics tied to his roles. It also does not discuss business outcomes, fleet decisions, or labor dynamics, instead using his story to spotlight Delta’s internal culture and the interpersonal routines that support daily operations. For readers, that makes the piece more of a career lens than a company update.

What to watch next is less about a single announcement and more about the continuity of Delta’s “Delta people” series. As Delta continues profiling pilots and other front-line roles, the recurring message to track is how the airline describes teamwork behaviors in the cockpit, and whether those profiles increasingly connect personal backgrounds to training, safety culture, and the company’s broader hiring and retention narrative.