Russell Corr

Never had one in a number of years of flying then all of a sudden have had 3 female FO's (all QF) in the last 4-6 weeks!!! Not that there is a problem with that of course

Any other experiences??

og

With due respect, if it's not a problem, why start a potentially sexist debate that serves no purpose?

Jaimito Cartero

The only time it has really caught my attention when when I was on a CRJ, and the pilot was very pregnant. I'd guess 7 1/2 or 8 months. That was definitely a first.

spotwelder

Well one was my girlfriend for six months.

As for her abilities, knowledge and skills (relating to aircraft) I would rate her very very highly indeed. She knew that every macho male pilot was waiting for her to trip up and so her standards were set well above the basic minimum requirement. If I ever needed to know anything about the aircraft type that she flew, then she either knew the answer instantly or was able to flick to it in the files in a flash. We still keep in touch whenever we are on the same continent.

I have also flown with a female captain, back around 2000. She was good as well. I have to judge these things from a professional angle. I have never had a problem with any QF female pilot that I have encountered.

I seem to remember that different medical strategies apply to cabin crew from flight deck crew in terms of pregnancy. In the old days, you lost your flight medical as a pilot instantly. Now I seem to remember that in the UK, you can fly middle trimester. In the first one, the risk of miscarriage is considered to be too high. For cabin crew, I think that the hauling of carts is banned from month four or so.

You can often find cabin crew doing a stint on the ground to keep the pay up in their altered uniform. Hence the expression "I see you have joined the widebody fleet"

perthite

I have had two that I am aware of, one on a 767, one on a dash 8. I am only aware of those two cases due to the female voice on the PA.

Globaliser

Countless captains and FOs on BA, to the extent that I don't even notice any more.

Well, except for the very cute blonde lass who flew me back from AMS to LHR about a year ago, who came out to say goodbye as we disembarked. She looked about 17, which is young even for an FO these days.

robbob90210

[QUOTE=Globaliser]Countless captains and FOs on BA, to the extent that I don't even notice any more.[QUOTE]

I hate to ask, but if you have female captains and FO's on the same flight, what do they call the front of the plane????

serfty

Sorry, but I could not help my self from responding; that's an old one: It's called the Box Office

Russell Corr

I fail to see how the debate is potentially sexist just because it mentions female pilots or a lack of them? Many threads on FT serve little purpose except to share info and experiences.

For the record I would like to see more female pilots in the skies and wondered whether they were out there, or whether I had just not seen many of them in my limited flying experiences.

og

I was not intending to launch an attack with my comments (perhaps wording could have been more diplomatic on a morning which was not good..), but in my work enviornment (non aviation), this sort of discussion gets a few people "going" and I have learnt that diplomacy is often better than any other form of discussion.

So, consistent with the intent of your posting, I am pleased when I hear a female voice from the Flight Deck and am glad that she has managed to break down some of the long held barriers in the aviation industry (ie that it's a "boys club" - both on the aircraft and in airline management).

Mwenenzi

Yes on a QF B767 BNE-MEL last year. The aircraft went unserviceable due to computer problems after all the passengers had boarded. Were off loaded and had to wait for a few hours in the QF club until QF found another B767.

infoworks

This is in the sprit of fun and was triggered by the discussion of flight crew and has nothing to do do with gender.

A politician was bignoting himself and was being shown onto the aircraft, and taken to meet the flight crew. he is introduced to the Captain who explains thier role of being in charge of the plane, etc. next the politician meets the FO, who, after introductions, explains their role.

All this time the guy sitting behind the captain has said nothing. Eventually the politician asks this crew memebr what their role is. The cre memeber replies "I am the Captain's sexual advisor".

"What?" asks the politiian, "but what is your role?"

Very simple says the officer, every time I go to speak the Captain reminds me that "If I want your F...ing advice I'll ask for it!"

RichardMEL

Plenty of female crew out there.

I was bemused to be chatted up by one a couple of years ago. She was commuting home SYD-MEL on the same flight I was on. I had quickcheck'd myself up to row 4 (737) since it was empty. She appeared at the last minute (as they do) and took 4D (I was in 4F). I was reading Airways magazine and she noticed it and asked me if I liked flying (yadda yadda yadda). By the other end I had her business card (767 Captain) and she was very friendly.

Nothing much came of it, but it was an unusual and interesting experience. She was telling me about her last flight in BNE-SYD just before and it was a difficult approach. Very cool.

I'd have said she was late 30's. very attractive too

ANyway, back to your regular program!

perthite

I hadn't really thought much about it before, but now I am somewhat surprised by how few of them that there seem to be around. I wonder what percentage of the captains and FO's are women?

~B~

ive been on planes with the second officer being a female,