Dominick Lee O’Donnell with SIA air stewardess Sandy on a flight from London to Singapore in 2010 (left) and during their meeting in Perth in 2022. - DOMINICK LEE O'DONNELL/TIKTOK
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): They met for the first time on a 13-hour flight from London to Singapore in 2010, but two Singapore Airlines stewardesses made such an impression on Dominick Lee O’Donnell and his family that they became his childhood heroes.
Dominick, who had just turned four at the time, was moving from London to Singapore with his family when SIA cabin crew Alice and Sandy wrote him a birthday card and goofed about with him on the flight.
“The attention and care they had given me was very calming and took my mind off the whole overwhelming situation of migrating to a new country,” said Dominick, 17, who was travelling in business class with his parents.
Dominick, who lost touch with the two women after that flight, bumped into Sandy again in a chance encounter during a flight from Singapore to London in 2016, this time in economy class. Now, thanks to Tiktok, he has reconnected with Alice again.
The teenager, who hopes to be a pilot, told The Straits Times the two stewardesses had showed him “how to make meaningful connections” and left a deep impact on his family.
His parents would often talk about their experience on that 2010 flight when he was growing up.
In 2016, when he met Sandy again, the SIA stewardess gave him a tour of the aircraft after learning that he wanted to be a pilot. Dominick obtained a recreational pilot certificate in Australia in 2022.
Sandy, who only wanted to be identified by her first name, also whipped out photos that they took together on their first flight.
“The photos show the deep impression our brief encounter left on all of us,“ said Dominick, who is currently a student at Tampines Meridian Junior College.
The duo met up again for lunch in November 2022 when they were both coincidentally in Perth at the same time. Sandy, who happened to have a flight to Perth, had seen on Instagram that Dominick was there too.
On Tuesday, Dominick took to TikTok in a bid to reconnect with Alice, where he shared how he met the two women in a series of pictures.
The post eventually made its rounds and reached Alice, who left a comment.
“I heard that TikTok has magic and I thought that it was a cute story to share so I gave it a try. I doubted that it would get attention but I had hope it’ll help me find Alice,” said Dominick. He is planning to meet both Alice and Sandy with his parents soon.
“To me, they are like mentors and big sisters I’ve never had,” said Dominick.
“I hope to become a pilot one day and invite them onboard, and the story will be a complete full circle.”
