During National and International Women’s Month, which is usually celebrated every March, many airlines around the world send off flights all crewed by women. Last year, Philippine Airlines (PAL) sent off an all-women international flight between Manila and Guam. However, this year is different, as PAL didn’t just send off one flight but nine flights all crewed by women, from the flight deck to the cabin.
In the span of one week, PAL operated a total of nine international and domestic flights with all-female crews as the airline pays tribute to all women worldwide as we celebrate National Women’s Month.
These flights include:
- PR 102 Manila to Los Angeles
- PR 104 Manila to San Francisco
- PR 595 Manila to Hanoi
- PR 211 Manila to Sydney
- PR 535 Manila to Jakarta
- PR 1841 Manila to Cebu
- PR 2777 Manila to Tagbilaran
- PR 2823 Manila to Davao
- PR 2147 Manila to Iloilo
However, all-women crews in PAL are not uncommon. There are quite a number of domestic flights operated by an all-women crew on normal days, though these are not announced or highlighted. I do post photos of some of them, though.
Noteable PAL Women Pilots
Captain Aimee Carandang became the first Filipina commercial pilot, and in 1993, she also became the first female full-fledged captain of Philippine Airlines (PAL). Considered Southeast Asia’s first female pilot, her inaugural flight as captain was on PAL’s Fokker 50 from Manila to Baguio. Another trailblazer is Captain Amorelle “Amore” Martinez, who became the first female chief pilot for the Airbus A320 in Asia. Before joining the airline, Capt. Amore was a pilot for the Philippine Air Force, flying the N-22 Nomad of the 220th Airlift Wing. She joined PAL Express in 2011 and became a captain in 2017.
As they say, the cockpit and the aircraft don’t distinguish between a “male pilot” or “female pilot”; all they recognize is “pilot”. Congratulations to all these PAL women crew members who continue to inspire more women to take to the skies!
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
