Womenpower takes over the cockpit

Today, Air Deccan offers all-women crew in its flights from Bangalore and Chennai. So from managing the cockpit (read henpit) to serving the passengers, the fair sex is on the job. “With high number of women pilots, especially at Bangalore and Chennai bases, the all-women crew flights have happened by chance and not by design,” says Indira Mittra, Chennai base captain, Air Deccan.
The airline boasts of the highest number of women pilots in the Indian aviation industry. Of a total of 496 of its pilots, 40 are women. Adds deputy COO of Air Deccan, Captain Preetham Phillip: “As more and more women qualify for being captains the probability of all women crew flights will only increase”. Last year the airline had 33 women flying its planes and a year before that only 10.
India’s youngest pilot, all of 18 years, is also a woman. Japji Cheema, Chandigarh-based girl, has been recruited by SpiceJet.
At Air Deccan’s Bangalore base, out of a total of 75 pilots, 14 are women pilots and at Chennai, there are five women pilots. There are around 26 departures from these two bases everyday, many of them being ‘all women crew’ flights.
Air-India has 36 women pilots out of a total of 650.Other airlines too are flying high with women crew. Kingfisher has 10 women out of a total of 3,00 pilots and of course it boasts of 100% female cabin crew. Till last week, when Kingfisher got it’s first woman captain, all women were working as co-pilots or first rank officers.
A US Air Force panel also concluded that women made better pilots (more exacting at details and better at making good decisions) than most men.
03/06/07 Vishakha Talreja/Economic Times