Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

On a flight back from London recently, I popped into the flight deck to say hello to the pilots. To my pleasant surprise I saw one of our up-and-coming female first officers, Shara sitting behind the controls. It's moments like these when I can't help but feel a bit like a sentimental fool. Shara is the first woman in Asean to fly the A340 and I'm really proud of her. Her achievement is a sign of our success at creating an environment of equal opportunity for women at AirAsia.

Hiring without prejudice against race and sex is in AirAsia's DNA. And I'm not just paying lip service to that ideal. Take a look at our top managers. Our Head of Commercial, General Counsel, Head of Corporate Finance, Head of Ancillary income and Head of Food&Beverage are all women.

Our gender neutral policy extends to roles out in the field too. Not many people realise that we were the first airline to extend the retirement age of female cabin crew to be on par with their male colleagues. I haven't seen other airlines in Southeast Asia changing their retirement policies. We may be sexy but we're definitely not sexist.

We were the first in Malaysia and I believe, Asia to recruit female pilots. To a lot of people this was quite radical. it is actually pretty darn cool too, if I do say so myself. It was great publicity for us and it boosted staff morale to know that they were working for a progressive company. But I assure you it was no publicity stunt. None of our girls would have earned their wings had they not passed the rigorous selection process. Safety knows no double standards.

We think it simply makes sense to practice meritocracy at all levels and I think it's short-sighted of Malaysian companies to not give more consideration to the very capable female work force.

Take flying an aircraft for example. I wonder why won't more airlines cast their hiring net wide to include women. I suspect this is just tradition that nobody feels compelled to challenge. In a way that line has been good for AirAsia as it means more in the talent pool for us to mine. When the industry was suffering from a pilot shortage we filled positions quicker by considering female applicants. You'd be surprised by the number of girls who dream of flying planes.

Piloting has absolutely nothing to do with physical strength, the only obvious advantage men have over women. Technical proficiency and aviation skills can be trained in anyone with the aptitude and this isn't gender defined. In fact, the bravado and machismo often associated with men is exactly the kind of trait that acts against being a good pilot. The qualities desired in a pilot are being able stay calm under pressure, being able to multi-task, confidence, capable of making solid decisions and trusting one's instincts.

Not quite the qualities found in a woman you think? Let me tell you about two women that will quell that belief.

First Officer, Ilyana Nazli Shah

Ilyana was convinced she would become a pilot after an invitation to sit in the cockpit during a flight to Langkawi for a family retreat. She was 16 when she took that AirAsia flight.

She enrolled in and qualified for the AirAsia Cadet Programme immediately after her SPM. A self- professed adrenaline junkie, Ilyana is one of our bright young sparks. At 23, she's been flying with us for almost four years, logged 2800 jet hours and become our first female pilot to fly the A330.

Being a pilot has instilled in her a sense of confidence, self-belief and responsibility. I feel very proud that AirAsia has given talented and determined young women like her such opportunities. Ilyana hopes that she and her female colleagues will eventually rise to management level and find a career as instructors in the academy. At AirAsia that wouldn't be impossible.

Senior First Officer, Shara Azlln Jalil

Remember that big question you're always asked as a kid? What do you want to be when you grow up? Shara's answer was a little unexpected of a girl. She wanted to be a pilot. Believing that was pretty much impossible in Malaysia at the time teachers and classmates would just smile politely each time she talked about her lofty dream.

For a while they were right. But that was before there was AirAsia.
After sitting for the SPM Shara set her sights on Japan to learn Japanese in the hope of studying aeronautical engineering. Her aviation dreams at least weren't over.
By the third month of her course her dad had told her of an airline willing to recruit female aviators.

Japan had to be for another day.

She immediately enrolled in the MFA and joined AirAsia after her private training.
"I chose AirAsia because it is a company that doesn't discriminate against gender and accepts that men and women are equally capable," she says.

Well said and how true.

Shara's now logged 2700 flying hours and earned the rank of Senior First Officer. But she still gets the sense from some men that she isn't as good as her male colleagues and it's a shame that even her instructor continues to be sceptical of female pilots. Of course she is no less qualified than the boys. Unfortunately, stereotypes persist. She reckons some men feel threatened by smart women and she's probably right. But I'm confident she'll make the rank of captain soon and you can bet I'll be the first male to salute her.