EasyJet woos women pilots

An initiative to recruit more women pilots was launched last week by Carolyn McCall, CEO of easyJet, when she joined Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport, to open the £2.7m easyJet Gatwick Academy training facility.

McCall said the airline aimed to double the proportion of new entrant women pilots, currently 6%, over two years‎ as the first phase of a long-term strategy.

The airline head returned to the theme when she delivered the first British Air Transport Association annual lecture.

In addition to other initiatives, easyJet was introducing 10 places for women each year on a training programme with the training loan of £100,000 underwritten by the airline.

Asked by BTN about the Scottish Government’s plan to reduce by half and eventually remove APD, she pointed out that airlines were tax collectors for the state and it was an expensive administrative cost.  

Scotland’s initiative was a challenge to the UK Government, and the only solution was to halve the tax and then plan to abolish it across the UK. 

McCall reconfirmed easyJet had no ambition to operate Heathrow domestics (a BA monopoly) at present as the airport was too complex, although it does fly from both Amsterdam and Paris Charles de Gaulle. www.easyjet.com

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