Spouses share flight deck...
Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:04 am
I wouldn't have thought this was a good idea but then maybe I am just an unreconstructed dinosaur!
https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-toda ... k3MTU5MQS2I was here first, so to speak. I was already a pilot for TWA when Kevin and I met at an airshow. But our career paths were uniquely affected by airline bankruptcies, 9/11, union negotiations, and mergers. I held out with TWA until the bitter end, after American Airlines acquired my old employer in 2001. I was furloughed after the merger, and when I returned, our seniority had effectively reversed. My husband is now a captain, and I am his first officer. This is a testament to the fact that the cockpit door is like a marriage: neither wide nor tall enough to fit through with a chip on your shoulder.
Yes, the airlines know they have married couples in their cockpits and they’re okay with it. I’m sure there are a handful flying together at each of the majors. No one else wastes time thinking about it. There is no glass ceiling; pilot pay is transparent and based solely on seniority. We are all the same in the eyes of the company. They do not give much thought to women in the cockpit, and this lack of contemplation is evident in womens’ uniforms. Who decided to give us ladies pants sans pockets and scarves the size of handkerchiefs for ties?
Wardrobe aside, pilots are for the most part interchangeable. We all receive the same training. We are on the same team, but as with any team, there is a captain who is ultimately responsible—for the players and the airplane.