On the runway . . .

easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, has today announced that it has reached a key milestone in its ambition to attract 20% of new pilots joining the airline to be women by 2020, having achieved a new high of 15% of new entrants to the airline being female, over the past financial year.

It comes at a time when only 5% of all pilots worldwide are female, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots. Of that, just over 450 of them have achieved the rank of captain – which means that almost every female commercial airline captain could fit onto an A380 aircraft.

In October 2015, women only made up 6% of easyJet’s new pilot intake. As a result of the campaign in 2016, easyJet had doubled the intake to 12% and has been increasing ever since towards its ambitious target of 20% by 2020. 

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Designed by pilots for use by passengers

AN Australian-based company, today announced the launch of their new in-flight entertainment and flight-tracking app, Inflighto, in the Apple App Storeand the Google Play store. The Inflighto app is the first in-flight entertainment app designed by pilots for use by airline passengers while in-flight. 

It combines highly-accurate ADSB flight-tracking technology and premium content to give passengers an elevated perspective of the world from the air. The Inflighto app supersedes the traditional ‘moving-maps’ currently used by airlines. Inflighto Pty Ltd is an Australian-based technology company formed in 2017 by two Australian pilots, John Hopkins and Christopher Smyth.

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On the runway . . .

FORMULA 1 star Jenson Button enjoyed racing through the skies this week after piloting a British Airways A380 flight simulator at London’s Heathrow Airport.

The former World Champion - who recently announced his retirement from the track - spent 90 minutes perfecting take-off, cruise and landing of the world’s largest commercial aircraft.

The simulator at British Airways’ state-of-the-art Flight Training Centre near London’s Heathrow Airport - where the airline’s 4,200 professional pilots are trained - uses cutting edge motion, audio and graphics technology to deliver a completely immersive experience.

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Tail fin heroes . . .

NORWEGIAN has announced that pioneering pilot Amy Johnson will become its 2nd #British tail fin hero, with the renowned pilot’s portrait set to appear on two Norwegian aircraft later this year.

Norwegian has always honoured iconic figures on the tails of its aircraft, and already has more than 80 tail fin heroes featuring personalities who symbolise the spirit of Norwegian through innovation, challenging the norm, and inspiring others.

To reflect Norwegian’s rapid growth in the UK, where it now flies 4.5 million UK passengers each year to 50 destinations, the airline has now begun a series of British tail fin heroes with Roald Dahl as the first British tail fin hero last year.

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Picture Credit: By British Government employee - http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=9732313&PIpi=8024493; see also File:Amyj.gif, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21427870

Air India flies longest all-female flight

AIR INDIA marked International Women’s Day by flying the world’s longest flight crewed entirely by women. On Sunday, March 6, the national carrier’s Delhi-San Francisco flight was operated with a full female staff, including cockpit and cabin crews, check-in staff, on-board doctor, ground handling staff, and engineers.

Air India currently employs more than 3,700 women, including pilots.

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Picture Credit: By Regions - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29802147

New aircraft tech could see co-pilots grounded

AIRCRAFT manufacturers are working on plans – part-funded by the European Commission – which could see commercial jet co-pilots out of a job. 

The project, backed by a consortium of companies including manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, is attempting to make flying safer by reducing the number of accidents. According to reports this could mean greater reliance on auto-pilot technology and less on flight deck crew.

Within the next six months, the Across Project (Advanced Cockpit for Reduction of Stress and Workload) is expected to develop new technology to fly aircraft remotely. This will be especially designed for flying in poor weather, in emergency situations, or in congested skies.

According to The Times, Across envisages the long-term the evolution of single pilot cockpits.

Balpa, the British pilots trade union, warned the move was a step towards fully automated aircraft which would be more vulnerable to hackers.

Go Holiday editor David Kernek comments: It comes as no surprise that the European Commission is helping to fund this crackpot project. What would surprise me very greatly is seeing the people who sign the cheques in Brussels boarding co-pilotless planes.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60687350@N07/6767906077">Jetstar pilots in A320 flight deck</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)