VIRGIN AUSTRALIA: Celebrates International Women’s Day with all female staffed flight – VA313

For International Women’s Day, Virgin Australia has staffed the despatch, all operations and management with around 20 women for flight VA313 between Melbourne and Brisbane at 8:10 am on 8 March. The all-female staffed flight involved a collaboration between the airline, Melbourne and Brisbane airports and Airservices Australia.

Throwing no shade, but Qantas, immensely active for the whole World Pride celebrations appears totally silent for International Women’s Day.

As a further feather in their collective caps on the advancement of women front, Virgin has a female CEO and a female Chief People Officer, Lisa Burquest. Melbourne Airport has its first female Chief Executive Officer, Lorie Argus and Brisbane Airport Corporation’s Executive General Manager Human Resources is Jane Dionysius.

The flight demonstrates that women don’t just occupy roles as cabin staff, or as we used to refer to them in less enlightened times as ‘hosties’. They now occupy positions across the board from pilots and engineers to despatchers and air traffic controllers.

As Jayne Dionysius of Brisbane Airport says:

“There isn’t a single role across aviation that women can’t do and today’s flight proves that. I look forward to a time when seeing women across aviation isn’t extraordinary, it’s the everyday.”

2PAXfly Takeout

With both Virgin Australia and Qantas boasting about future recruitment – it’s time to call their bluff so to speak on this. You can visit recruitment websites for each company at:

• careers.virginaustralia.com
• Qantas Careers