Julio Canales
Julio Canales
Julio Canales is a father of three and a commercial pilot for Delta Airlines.
Aid Flights
Julio flying his plane on an aid delivery to Puerto Rico [1]
Since September 28, 2017 Julio Canales has been making flights delivering care packages and aid to those affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Julio has also made medical evacuation flights to get injured people in Puerto Rico treatment. [1]
Julio Canales' mission has spread on social media and online aviation forums, and other pilots have joined in.
"We now have 10 private planes."
Aubry told CNN.
Julio and other private pilots have been able to use their small planes to reach small towns hit by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico that the National Guard and others are not able to reach.
Julio and his team have also been coordinating and receiving some funding from the Cajun Navy a volunteer group based out of Louisiana, who is in cooperation with Homeland Security and the United States National Guard.
Julio Canales also made aid delivery flights helping those affected by Hurricane Irma (2017) in Florida.
Fundraising
Julio Canales and Aubry Canales have received funding from the Cajun Navy for some fuel costs. However they are looking to raise more funds on GoFundMe so they can do more aid delivery flights until the National Guard starts delivering to smaller cities.
It is 1554 nautical miles from Atlanta to Ponce, Puerto Rico and on average, it costs between $1.20-$1.50 per mile to operate the airplane which is roughly $4500 for a round trip flight.
Personal Life
Photo taken by Aubry Canales of Julio, Aubry, and their three children
Julio Canales is the husband of Aubry Canales who also works for Delta.
Julio and Aubry married in 2004 after getting engaged in 2003.
The couple have three young children.
The family of five live in Atlanta, Georgia. Julio also has lived in Salt Lake City, Utah, Louisville, Kentucky, Dallas, Texas, Seattle, Washington, and Orlando, Florida which he calls his hometown. He attended William R. Boone High School graduating in 1988. [1]
Julio and Aubry are natives of Puerto Rico and a lot of their family still lives in Puerto Rico including several of their aunts and uncles.
Julio is passionate about flying both in his career as a commercial pilot and in his personal life.
He owns a Cessna 310 with several friends.
Education
From 2004-2007, Julio Canales graduated from Utah Valley University with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics. From 1992-1994 he studied at the University of Texas-Arlington where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Business.
Career
Julio Canales has worked as a Commercial Pilot for Delta Airlines since August, 1988. He is currently a Flight Operations Duty Manager/MD-88 First Officer for Delta. Since June, 1991 Julio has played the bass guitar professionally. Since March, 2006 Julio Canales has been the President of South City Investments LLC.