There have been many who have paved the way for women to earn a seat at the controls of an airliner. ISA+21 would like to recognize and honor the following women from around the globe who have left a mark on the airline world. They have been the first female pilots in their countries, the first female hired by their airlines or to become captains and checkairmen, and have flown on some of the first all-female crews. Their remarkable accomplishments do not stop there. These ladies have truly been trailblazers the aviation industry and will always be looked up to.
1934
Helen Richey
Central Airlines
1947
Prem Mathur
Deccan Airways
First Indian female airline pilot
1956
Durba Banerjee
Indian Airlines
1965
Yvonne Pope Sintes
Morton Air Service
First British female airline pilot
1967
Fiorenza de Bernardi
Aeralpi
First Italian female airline pilot
1968
Turi Widerøe
SAS
First Norwegian female airline pilot
1973
Bonnie Tiburzi
American Airlines
1973
Rosella Bjornson
Transair
First Canadian female airline pilot
1973
Emily Howell Warner
Frontier Airlines
1973
Joy Walker
Delta Air Lines
1973
Barbara Garrett Smith
Eastern Airlines
1973
Lyubov Ulanova
Aeroflot
1974
Cheryl Faye Peters
Piedmont Airlines
1974
Sandra Saliba Simmons
Braniff Airways
1975
Tagreed Akasheh
Royal Jordanian Airlines
1975
Conchita Brenard
Mexicana Airlines
1975
Danielle Decure
Air France Airlines
1975
Joann Osterud
Alaska Airlines
1976
Norah O’Neill
Flying Tigers
1976
Ann Lloyd-Bostock
British Caledonian
1976
Terry London Rinehart Valerie Walker
Western Airlines
1976
Mary Bush Shipko
Hughes Airwest
1977
Grainne Cronin
Aer Lingus
1977
Gloria La Roche
Airgo Air Freight
1977
Caroline Frost Lesly Hardy
British Air Ferries
First British all-female airline pilot crew
1977
Emilie Jones Lynn Rippelmeyer
Air Illinois
First all-female airline pilot crew in USA
1978
Judy Cameron
Air Canada
1978
Gail Gorski
United Airlines
1978
Sharon Emminger
Hawaiian Airlines
1979
Maria Ziadie Haddad
Air Jamaica
1979
Deborah Lawrie
Ansett
First Australian female airline pilot
1979
Susan Truman Jan Everest
Air New Zealand
1979
Mimi Tompkins
Aloha Airlines
Aloha Flight#243
1979
Abigail Davis
Northwest Orient Airlines
1979
Susan Horstman
National Airlines
1979
Joyce Stripp
US Airways
1981
Adelajda Szarzec-Tragarz
Polish Airlines
1981
Sari Schneph
Pacific Southwest Airlines
1982
Sophianna Karamali
Olympic Airways
1982
Sharon Finch Bigelow
Midway Airlines
1982
Cathy Jones
Southwest Airlines
1983
Kirsi Arvila
Finnair
1983
Debra McCormick
America West Airlines
1984
Ann Bennett Sharelle Quinn
Qantas Airways
1984
Emily Howell Warner Barbara Wiley Cook
Frontier Airlines
First Frontier Airlines all-female crew
1984
Patrice Clark
Bahamasair
1985
Saudamini Deshmukh Nivedita Bhasin
Indian Airlines
India’s first all-female airline pilot crew
1985
Linda Smith
New York Air
1986
Susan Schmid
Compagnie Transport
1987
Lynn Barton
British Airways
1988
Renate Moore Natson
Lufthansa
1988
Tanya Cunningham
Midwest Express
1988
Antonelle Celetti
Alitalia
1989
Kaniz Fatema Roksana
Biman Bangladesh
1996
Janet Patton
Spirit Airlines
1999
Ari Fuji
JAL Express
Japan’s first female airline pilot
2001
Beverley Bass
Gander Diversion, Newfoundland 9/11
2012
Esther Mbabazi
Rwandair
2013
Wang Zhiqian
Sichuan Airlines, China
2016
Lori Cline Lucy Young
Movie debut in “Sully”
2018
Lisa Norman
Commands first direct flight Perth-London
2019
Yasmeen Al-Maimani
First Saudi Arabian female airline pilot
2019
Helen Trenerry
Commands first B787 flight direct London-Sydney
Czarena Hashim
Royal Brunei Airlines
Flying Families
ISA+21 would like to recognize the following airline pilot families
Claudia Jones & Cathy Jones
Mother and Daughter airline pilots
Grainne Cronin & Louisa Johnston
Mother and Daughter airline pilots
Beverley Bass & Paige Stawicki Rogers
Mother and Daughter airline pilots
Wendy Rexon & Kelly Rexon
Mother and Daughter airline pilots to fly together
Jan Ramos & Vicky Ramos
First sister airline pilots
Nivedita Bhasin- Mother Rohit Bhasin- Father Rohan Bhasin- Son Niharika Bhasin- Daughter
World’s first family in which every member is an airline captain
Mary Trusler Jennifer Trusler Keegan Schroeder
Three generations of female airline pilots at United Airlines