Every year, members of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA+21) from around the world meet to celebrate their profession and encourage women to progress in their aviation careers.  This year the annual conference was held in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. 90 female airline pilots from 22 airlines and 7 countries attended the annual business meeting decked out in their respective company uniforms.  Two charter members were in attendance this year.

The Tuesday evening welcome reception aboard the Cherry Blossom was a lovely time of food, fun, and sisterhood as we sailed down the Potomac!

We had beautiful views of the planes landing at DCA from the river! The inner “aviation-nerd” in all of us was thrilled!

This year, attendees were bussed to the business meeting which was held at the ALPA (Air Line Pilot Association) national headquarters building in Washington, DC.  Roll call was taken as members went around the room to introduce themselves, their airline, aircraft type, flight position, domicile and where they live.

The business meeting was full of great info and summaries of how much the Board has been working this past year!

We also heard from ALPA President Captain Jason Ambrosi, and ALPA First Vice President Captain Wendy Morse.

A huge Thank You to ALPA for hosting us in their facilities!

View the Meeting Minutes Here

Our fabulous luncheon was sponsored by Aviation Retirement Strategies. We are so grateful for their continued support!

Congratulations to our 12 newest Captain’s Club inductees!

The Wednesday evening scholarship gala was such a blast! We honored Gail Gorski, the first female pilot hired by United Airlines and Charter Member of ISA+21, with a beautiful tribute created by Laura Mason and Jean Harper. 

It was fun to see the group all dressed up in their evening wear at the conference celebration and silent auction to benefit dozens of ISA+21 Scholarship winners.

Thank you to our generous sponsors:
Binka Bone, Vicki Karnes, and June Viviano

Thursday’s Day Trip was a blast! We  enjoyed a private tour the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center at the Washington Dulles Airport and the IMAX movie “To Fly,” and tasted some of Virginia’s finest wines.   The exhibits are stupendous including a real Concorde jet, the Enola Gay, hundreds of airplanes and a small display dedicated to Amelia Earhart. Thank you to outgoing Events Director, Maggie Eickhoff, for arranging such a fun time! 

The post-conference side-trip was so much fun! Sisterhood, good food, and goat yoga (yes, goat yoga!) at a beautiful Mt. Vernon retreat, made it a weekend getaway to remember!

We shared many laughs and made great memories at our nightly “charcuterie and wine” gatherings on the patio! We also enjoyed a tour of Harper’s Ferry, a stop at Breaux Winery, and a tour of the Oatlands Historic Home and gardens. 

The post conference side trip also included a two night stay at the Landsdowne Resort in Leesburg, VA. Please, join us next year. You will love it!