Pictures by Ingrid Barrentine
Just lately, an all-female crew flew an additional particular flight to Seattle. It was Capt. Callie’s final flight with Horizon Air, our long-time regional airline sister firm and her first time having flown her mother and grandfather as company in the primary cabin.
“It was nice. I’m pleased with her. She discovered what she wished and caught to it,” mentioned her grandfather, a Boeing retiree.
Quickly, Callie will pilot plane with Alaska Airways, the place her mother has been a flight attendant for over 30 years. This transition from Horizon to Alaska is a superb instance of our Pilot Pathways Program at work and the way it creates probably the most direct flight path for Horizon pilots to make the transfer from a regional to a significant airline, if desired, so simple as doable.
“I stay up for that [Callie flying for Alaska]— to flying together with her sooner or later,” her mother mentioned.
From the bottom up
Callie started working for Horizon Air in 2015 as a ramp agent in Yakima. She later transferred to Redmond, Oregon, the place she would earn her wings and fly that commemorative flight earlier than transitioning to first officer at Alaska.
From the beginning, girls have performed a significant function in build up the aviation business. Whereas there was enchancment over time, there may be nonetheless room for extra illustration within the flight deck.
Ladies like Callie and her co-pilot Meagan on flight 2342 have fought for extra illustration within the business and now have larger alternatives to grow to be pilots, floor crew and executives. The query is, do younger women know this? To have a good time Worldwide Ladies’s Day, we’re championing girls like Callie and Meagan to point out how far the business has come lately and set an instance for future generations of ladies in aviation.
“I want I might have identified the trail to take to grow to be a pilot at a youthful age. If somebody had reached me in my highschool years and confirmed what the profession really seemed like, I in all probability would have finished it quite a bit sooner,” mentioned Horizon First Officer Meagan, who earned her wings when she was 22.
Coaching the following era of pilots
Final March, Alaska and Horizon teamed up with Hillsboro Aero Academy, a premier flight college within the Pacific Northwest, to launch the Ascend Pilot Academy (APA). This new improvement program, designed for aspiring pilots, supplies an easier, extra financially accessible path to changing into a business pilot at Horizon and, finally, Alaska. This system is a component of a bigger effort to deal with a rising pilot scarcity and elevated journey demand.
In partnership with Hillsboro Aero, we count on to register and practice as much as 250 college students a yr. Moreover, our Ascend Pilot Academy goals to offer aspiring pilots with a extra accessible path to changing into a pupil pilot. Enrolled cadets might be eligible for entry to monetary support and a stipend of as much as $26,463 upon signing on to work for Horizon Air.
Related tales:
Associated