The ‘Superwomen’ Airbus A380 flight to San Francisco ahead of International Women’s Day
One the eve of International Women's Day, Emirates Airlines have launched what they have dubbed the 'Superwomen Flight'.
Crewed, prepared and serviced by an all-woman team, Emirates EK 225 from Dubai to San Francisco is a largely symbolic flight.
Though women have been employed by the company from its inceptionin the mid 80s, this is the first time the UAE's national airline has prepared a flight with an entirely female team.
A video by Emirates shows the four hours of preparations by the 'Superwomen' getting the A380 aircraft ready to fly.
It's a huge operation to get a passenger plane airborne. A team of 75 'above wing' and 'below wing' roles are required. This included everyone from the pilot team, Captain Patricia Bischoff from Canada and First Officer Rebecca Lougheed from the UK, down to the all-women ground team of catering and security teams.
A team of 75 'above wing' and 'below wing' roles were required to launch flight EK 225. Photo / supplied
Mr. Abdulaziz Al Ali, Emirates' Executive Vice President of Human Resources, was proud to have women represented in all these key functions.
"Women have been part of the Emirates success story from the start and on International Women's Day we celebrate their extensive contribution to Emirates and to the broader aviation industry."
Female employees make up over 40% of the Emirates workforce.
Though this thins to 20% towards the higher altitudes of supervisional and managerial roles, the airline represents women from across 150 nationalities including New Zealanders and over a thousand Emirati women form the company's home nation.
