John Travolta has discoed into another year of his life with a new achievement under his belt.
The Saturday Night Fever actor celebrated his 72nd birthday Wednesday by sharing that he received a pilot’s license to fly a certain type of private jet.
“It’s my birthday today!” he captioned a video of him posted on Instagram of a jet as he sat in the cockpit. “And I’m very proud to say I got my license in the Global Express! Thank you for all my birthday wishes!”
The clip saw the Grease actor briefly showing off the type of plane he told his followers he was now able to fly. He also showed the aircraft taking off from the runway.
“I’ve just accomplished my licence [sic] in the Global Express SIC (second in command),” Travolta told his followers as he sat in the pilot’s seat. “Congratulations to me!”
In addition to his acting career, Travolta has been a licensed pilot since he was 22 years old, and has served as an ambassador for Qantas Airways since 2002. Over the years, he has earned licenses to fly different planes, including Boeing 747, 707 and 737.
He announced earning his 737 license in a 2022 Instagram post, calling the achievement “a very proud moment in my aviation history.
“To add to my 747 and 707 licenses, I just received my 737 license. And it went very well, so just sharing my moment with you,” he said in the social media video, showing off the plane.
In 2020, the Hairspray actor shared an image of himself as a teenager, showing just how far back his enthusiasm for aviation went. “Throwback Thursday: When I was 15 years old, my school offered an aviation class which started my second career,” he captioned the post.
His late wife, Kelly Preston, previously spoke about her husband’s pilot career, telling The Telegraph in 2018 that they would travel in his planes “all the time.”
“He’s had his license for almost 30 years,” she said at the time. “At our house in Ocala, northern Florida, we have the planes parked out front because we have a runway attached. I never get nervous when John’s piloting because he’s calm in any situation and can handle the pressure. He’s flown us all over the world – Russia, South Africa, Australia, Tahiti, the U.K., the U.S. and the Far East.”
Speaking with Business Jet Traveler in a September 2025 interview, Travolta reflected on why he thinks pilots like the profession so much.
“What excites pilots is so varied that I don’t even know what the commonalities are, except that it makes them happy because they love the joy of flight,” he told the publication. “Some people love the challenge of calculations. Some like the sensation of flight. Some like the objectivity of seeing the world from a different perspective. It lifts their spirits.”
