I’ve been on a good number of flights on several different airlines. I don’t fly as much as folks who travel all the time for business but I’ve probably been on at least 40 flights in the last ten years.
At the beginning of the flight the pilot always says hello over the P.A. (“this is your captain speaking”)
I can say with a very high level of confidence that, in my experience, that voice has never belonged to a woman. I’m sure that there must be some woman pilots. Has anyone in Messageboardland ever had a woman pilot?
I have begun to suspect that women pilots are just not allowed to make themselves known to the passengers- so as not to make nervous the folks who have unshakable traditional beliefs about gender roles.
I’ve heard for years that that’s the case. Of course, I have absolutely nothing to back this up, so I could be wrong. But I don’t recall ever hearing a woman make this announcement either.
Interesting theory, I have been on plenty of flights with female pilots and co-pilots (wouldn’t be able to tell the diff me) but I only have a vague reccollection of once hearing a woman make the introduction.
Well, not “having to keep themselves secret” but what I’ve heard is that the male co-pilot will usually do the announcements. As I’ve said, I have nothing to back this up.
Woman pilots? Pshaw! Everyone knows women can’t do difficult jobs like that! No, they should be happy with doing the safety demonstrations and handing out foil-wrapped dinners.
Seriously though, the wife was just telling me she’s had flights with female pilots who’ve made the announcements, but these have been short-haul flights (Chicago-Lincoln, NE, for example). And yes, there were the expected mutterings of “Oh God” and so forth from various passengers, although it’s unlikely that any of them were genuinely worried about having a female pilot at the helm.
Do people really still believe that crap about women drivers, too? Insurance companies think women are better drivers than men. It’s a good bet they’re better pilots, too. I don’t remember hearing a female voice do the announcement, but I know I’ve seen women in pilot’s uniforms heading for the cockpit (or was it the box office on those days? ::Geezer ducks and runs for cover:: )
I’m currently in flight school (also college) at one of the top schools in Canada. In my class of 64, there are 7 females. Also, for reasons unknown, the washout rate for females in my program also tends to be higher than the male number.
It’s just luck of the draw, but the odds of getting a female pilot over a male one are quite low.
People actually voiced (although jokingly) their concern with having a woman pilot? Or was the reason they were moaning because she was saying there would be a three hour delay or something similar to that?
I’m amazed that people would even jokingly mention their distaste for a woman pilot.
According to this months AOPA magazine, one of the two people chosen to pilot the commemorative Wright flyer - an exact replica of the plan Wilbur and Orville flew at Kitty Hawk - is a femal airline captain.
At the flying club where I belong and train, one of the instructors is female, and I’d say at least a third of the students are as well. But maybe that isn’t representative.
I have been on a flight that had a female pilot and a female co-pilot. It was on USAir from Cleveland, OH to Harrisburg, PA, in July 2001. So, yes, there is at least one all-female domestic flight crew.
Not my experience, but I trust the source. She was on a short flight from Van to Calgary, and the female pilot made the annoucement. One guy in business class apparently commented to his companion (also male), “Well, I’ll tell my daughter that. She doesn’t think girls are allowed to fly passenger jets.”
Now, there is a passenger comment I’d have liked to hear first hand. You go, dad!
I’ve been on several United flights with female Captains and First Officers. I’ve not yet encountered one with TWO females in the cockpit, however. The odds probably don’t support that on a routine basis, given the overall numbers of pilots of each gender.
I flew last fall from Portland, OR to Orlando, FL to visit Mom for Thanksgiving. The cross-country leg from LAX to Orlando on a Boeing 767 was flown by a female Captain and an almost all-male cabin crew - nobody seemed to notice or care - at least in rows 1 through 4 where I was sitting, anyway
I don’t recall ever having had a female pilot, although i have heard with my own ears strong evidence that there are quite a few of them out there.
I usually fly United, and on most flights it is possible to listen to air traffic control through the headphones (usually channel 9 on the seat console). Not only can you hear the conversations between your own plane and the controllers, but also those of other planes.
While listening to these ATC exchanges, i have heard quite a few obviously female voices,* although they still constitute a rather small minority. My experience suggests the figure is probably under 5 percent. Also, while i don’t keep track of which airlines the female pilots fly for, i seem to remember that most of the female voices i heard were from regional or smaller national airlines, rather than for the big carriers.
Remember, though, this is rather anecdotal and impressionistic, although this site suggests that my guess about overall figures is pretty close to the mark.
*Question for pilots: Which member of the cockpit crew usually does the talking over the radio? Is there a hard and fast rule?
I’ve been on about a jillion flights in the last 13 years. I’ve had female captians on a few flights who have done the announcements. There was one flight, I can’t remember where but it was a domestic flight, where they proudly announced that we were flying with an all female flight crew.
