Duco Staal

After my exchange year I went back to the Netherlands. The first 5 years I did not know what to do with my life. I had numerous jobs and spent most of my time playing sports. In 1986 I joined an airline company named Martinair. Now a part of the Air France / KLM group. I started a career as steward and later on I became purser. I did that for 22 years. But besides that I had a few jobs on the side. I was a Cabin safety instructor for 10 years and the last 4 yrs I was involved in the middle management of the company. Last year I was asked by a former boss to start a new airline. I took the challenge and we are now flying with one Airbus A320 and in March and April number 2 and 3 are coming. The company is called Amsterdam Airlines.

Through the years I moved around the Netherlands. I have an average of 3 years per house. At the moment I live in Nieuw Vennep in a former monastery about 15 miles from Amsterdam. The oldest house I lived in was in Hoorn and was built in 1624.

Here I got married, my two daughters were born and I got divorced. The good news is that we live near each other, that we have a good relationship and that I see my daughters a lot.

And the biggest change compared to my highschool picture is that my hair is short.

I only did the Senior year and really everything was a great story for me. And I enjoyed every minute of it. I remember the plays I was in. The one were I had the role of a Russian spy. Guess what made them give me that role. I remember the food fights in the cafeteria, we had three. It started all of a sudden and it was over in a second but the mess was indescribable. I remember the work for the yearbook. All the hours in the Darkroom and the great story's of Pomeroy. And I can go on, nothing special but all good memories.