Coppell Chronicle Vol. 6, No. 21
Pilot Paired with Father on First Flight • Irving Proposes Short-Term Rental Permits • Coppell Companies Called Out for Sewer Sins • Hookah Lounge on Denton Tap Clears Hurdle
Personal anecdote 1 of 2: Last week, people sent me links to articles published by other media outlets about Naterra International’s plans for a new headquarters in Coppell. I responded by sending them links to articles I published last year about the same topic.
The recent articles were sparked by a form filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation this month. It says Naterra’s $34 million project near the intersection of Interstate 635 and Point West Boulevard should commence in October, with a targeted completion date of Dec. 1, 2027.
Personal anecdote 2 of 2: Because my wife/editor/muse loves to play the Spelling Bee game associated with my New York Times subscription, I play a similar game called Blossom on the Merriam-Webster website. One of last week’s editions of Blossom featured the letters E, L, N, R, S, T, and W, and I laughed out loud when the game revealed a word that I’d failed to form using all seven of them — newsletter.
Pilot Paired with Father on First Flight
A pilot’s first flight for an airline typically happens under the watchful eye of an experienced captain. In Hanna Einemo’s case, that captain was someone who’s been keeping an eye on her since she was born.
After three months as a trainee, the Coppell High School graduate began working as a Southwest Airlines pilot last month. The captain on her first official flight was her father, Svein Einemo.
Airline pilots’ schedules are created on a monthly basis. Once Southwest published its June slate, Svein found the phone number for the captain assigned to Hanna’s initial post-training flight and sent him a text, asking if they could trade trips.
“He had no problems with that,” Svein said with a laugh.
To make the pairing even sweeter, that flight from Dallas to New Orleans was scheduled for June 21 — aka Father’s Day.
“It really worked out,” Svein said. “It was pure luck.”
The Einemos were featured on Southwest’s social media last week. A post on the airline’s Instagram account features a video of Captain Einemo explaining to passengers why that flight was so special for his family. (His wife, Kellie Einemo, and Hanna’s siblings were seated in the cabin.)
Thanks to Kellie, Svein and Hanna are also in the July 20 issue of People; she met an employee of the magazine on a recent cruise, when the Father’s Day pairing had already been arranged. The Einemos are featured in the edition with a cover story about the wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, in case you want to grab a copy at the supermarket.
Inspired by her father — who has been a Southwest pilot for nearly 27 years — Hanna began flying small Cessna planes at age 15. When she was 19, she became a pilot for JSX, a charter carrier with a fleet of 30-seat jets manufactured by Embraer and ATR. Southwest hired her to fly Boeing 737s last March, when she was only 23.
Every airline pilot is assigned to a base in a particular city, meaning all of their trips begin and end there. Hanna was briefly based in Dallas at the conclusion of her Southwest training, but she was assigned to Orlando for July. Next month, she’ll be based in Chicago.
Federal law says airline pilots can’t fly after turning 65, and Svein will reach that milestone birthday in September of 2028. That gives Hanna a little more than two years to build up enough seniority to earn a transfer to Dallas, where her dad is based. Svein was at her side as her career took off, and she intends to be there when his career concludes.
“That’s always been the dream — to be on my dad’s retirement flight,” she said.
Irving Proposes Short-Term Rental Permits
Anybody who wants to operate a short-term rental in Irving may soon need to seek permission from the City Council.
Under a set of proposed amendments to Irving’s Unified Development Code, offering a single-family home as a short-term rental would require a conditional use permit. Applying for such a permit would trigger public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council, and neighboring homeowners would be notified of those hearings and given a chance to speak.
If these amendments are adopted, Irving would be following in Coppell’s footsteps. The Coppell City Council put similar rules on the books in 2022.