Pilots Today — The Number of Women Pilots Has Increased

One hundred years ago, the first American woman earned her pilot’s license.

In the past ten years since 2000, the number of women pilots in the U.S. has risen by nearly 19%.  And the number of women who have achieved the highest certification, Airline Transport Pilot, has increased 35%, according to Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) statistics. There were an estimated 42,218 female pilot certiifcate holders in 2010. This is approximately 7% of the total approximately 627,000 pilots in the U.S., according to the FAA.

Among those with Commercial Pilot Certificates and Airline Transport Pilot Certificates, women license holders grew from 10,218 in 2000 to nerly 14,000 in 2010.

The number of women in other aviation fields is also growing. The number of female ground instructors rose nearly 15% during the decade. And for female airline dispatchers, the increase was 71%.  As far as flight instructors, the number of females has increased by nearly 7% from 2000 to 2010. The number of female aviation mechanics rose by 43% and the number of female aircraft repair personnel rose by 35% during that same period.

Pilots today — both male and female — are employed by the airlines, the military, in search and rescue operations, agriculture operations in crop dusting, corporate aviation, and charter operations, as well as government agencies such as police, fire departments and federal border patrol operation.

Phoenix East Aviation has many female student pilots from throughout the world — from countries in Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia, as well as from the U.S. Phoenix East also employs female flight and ground instructors.  For more details on how you can become a professional pilot, contact www.pea.com. Identify your area of interest and a knowledgeable admissions officer will help guide you on your new career in aviation.