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Etihad Airways is celebrating the maiden
commercial flight of its first female Captain, Sophie Blanchard.
Captain Blanchard, a French national, took the
controls of the left hand seat in the flight deck for the first
time on Wednesday, 8 September, for flight EY17 from Abu Dhabi to
London Heathrow.
Captain Blanchard joined Etihad in 2007 as a First
Officer, after initially flying for Etihad Crystal Cargo with Air
Atlanta. Since joining Etihad, Captain Blanchard has been able to
complete the necessary training and pass the rigorous checks to
gain her fourth stripe.
Captain Richard Hill,
Etihad Airways’ Chief Operations Officer, said, “We congratulate
Sophie on becoming Etihad’s first female Captain. It’s a great
achievement and well deserved as she has shown tremendous
dedication to achieve the rank of Captain.”
Etihad
currently has 10 female pilots within its ranks and four female
cadet pilots.
Captain Blanchard said, “It is a
great privilege to become Etihad’s first female Captain and be the
first woman to take full command of a commercial flight. The
company has been very supportive in my aim to become a Captain and
I look forward to my first flight to London.”
Captain Blanchard started her aviation training after graduating
from high school. She gained her commercial license at 18 years
old in the US and began flying cargo aircraft for a Belgium-based
company.
Her work took her to Africa and around
Europe before she joined Icelandic company Air Atlanta. At Air
Atlanta Captain Blanchard began flying leased flights for Etihad
Crystal Cargo. She has accrued more than 6,500 hours of flying
time.
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